A Fight with the Vespers
by 39ninjas
Summary: The Cahill's are geniuses, artists, ruthless leaders and strong willed people that will never back down. "Today will be the day we choose the place we're going to hide and plan from the Vespers." "Hide? What do you mean Hide?" Summary Changed. R
1. Chapter 1: Normal Day

**Well, here we have the 1st Chapter of Fight With the Vespers. Except this Chapter is the "edited" version of the previous one. Hope my loyal readers will take time to read this since I did make it better than the last crappy one so...Enjoy and R&R if you want to. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues. Really, I don't.**

Chapter 1: Normal Day.

By: 39ninjas

It was a clear Sunday morning, the bright light peeked in through the curtains as blue birds nonchalantly chirped and sang throughout the morning.

The sky was a beautiful hue of light blue and the clouds were floating by aimlessly, white and calming. The tree's swished along with the light wind and the grass shined with mildew under the bright, warm sun.

The dogs were barking, the cats were meowing; the neighbors were either out at Church or in the park relaxing with their kids. Some flowers had already begun to bloom while others stayed asleep under the shade of big backyard trees.

Mrs. Conelly was taking her daily Sunday morning jog with her husband, Mr. Conelly (for once) while the sound of sizzling bacon echoed from downstairs in a certain house.

In that certain house, there was a small family, not your normal family with the average 'Mom, Dad, Kids and noisy dog.'

No, this family was different, to put it simply, this family is special.

This family is not composed of the average. This family is…well…it's really just composed of the brother of deceased grandmother, a nan-au pair, two brilliant siblings and…a cat.

Now, I won't go into details too much because I'm sure you know their story.

So I'll just skip ahead onto one of our most favorite characters, and how his Sunday morning is going.

* * *

"DAN! WAKE UP! YOU'RE BACON AND EGGS ARE READY!" Nellie, the au pair slash guardian, shouted with one hand at the side of her mouth toward the stairs.

"Mpphh…" groaned our now dear 12-year-old male protagonist. There he lied on his bed; you would've thought he was unconscious if it wasn't for the up and down movements of his chest, which indicated breathing.

"DAN!" shouted Nellie once more.

"RRRGGHHH!" He yelled through his pillow.

Fiske sighed, already seated at the dining table with a plate of pancakes in front of him and a glass of orange juice in one hand. "Dan slept at 4 in the morning, busy playing Ninja Gaiden 2." He informed to their au pair, chewing on a piece of his breakfast. "Needs more syrup." He said.

Nellie sighed. "What Chapter is he now?" she asked, passing Fiske the maple syrup. Fiske took it and squeezed some onto his pancakes. "Chapter 4"

"Still?" Nellie exclaimed incredulously. Suddenly, a loud cough echoed throughout the room.

There, near the open archway connecting the Living Room to the Dining Room was Dan, ever so groggy and angry.

"I was this," he placed his index finger inches above his thumb. "close to finishing the last boss but Unfortunately, I DIED." Dan hissed, he stomped over to the dining table and ate away at the bacon and eggs placed in front of him by an anxious Nellie.

"Relax Kiddo, it's just a game." Nellie said, one hand on her hip.

"Just a game!" Dan dropped his fork. "Dare you call it _just a game_!" Nellie looked at Dan with a raised brow, contemplating on the sanity of the poor boy with the unruly hair.

"It's not just a game Nellie. It is…_The_ Game. The ULTIMATE game. I'm sure even _you _can't handle the ultimate abundance of massive hard coreness of Ninja Gaiden!" Dan pointed an accusing finger at his astonished au pair.

Nellie smirked.

**18 MINUTES LATER…**

"Did it." Nellie handed Dan the controller, a triumphant smile on her face.

Dan's jaw dropped down so low it looked just like it is in the cartoons. His eyes bulged open like saucers with one twitching slightly like a certain Russian Cahill they all knew by the name Spazky.

"Gh….Ah….B-But….How…..Why did….When did….Wha—?" Dan's tongue tied, his voice lost itself and continued to spat out nonsense. Nellie smiled and wiped her hands together, cleaning away invisible dust of victory.

"Now, finish your bacon." She ordered the still frozen Dan.

…

Nellie entered the kitchen with a gloomy Daniel behind her. Fiske raised a brow. "What—?"

"Beat his _Ultimate Game_ for him." She said while walking toward the fridge, taking out a pitcher of orange juice. At this, Dan shivered.

"Gross. I thought we didn't buy orange juice anymore." The gloominess in Dan's voice started disappearing as he picked up his fork and began munching on his bacon once more.

Fiske shook his head with a 'tsk'.

"Oh Daniel, do you not know how important orange juice is? It is filled with vitamins that can help the body grow and protect you from illness!" he exclaimed, holding out his glass of the said juice.

Dan winced once he saw the pulpy liquid and turned his attention backed to the pancakes. Nellie laughed and drank some of the juice.

"Geez, kiddo. Ya know those chewy dinosaur vitamins aren't the only things you need to chug down to stay healthy."

Dan flushed. "I thought I told you not to mention the chewy dinosaur vitamins!" he said. Nellie laughed once more and turned back to the fridge.

"Dan, orange juice is filled with a bunch of healthy and important vitamins that you need for daily living. Like Vitamin C! Did you know that Vitamin C is one of the most important antioxidants? It helps keep your immune system steady and you know how you hate getting sick." Fiske explained.

Dan huffed and continued to chew on his bacon.

"And let's not forget about the Potassium!" he continued. Dan groaned.

"Did you know that Potassium plays an important role in muscle function and helps in reducing the chances of having high blood pressure and stroke? Isn't that amazing! Age hasn't caught up with me yet thanks to this baby!" Fiske held up the orange juice and sipped on it daintily.

Dan felt like barfing.

"Oh, and the Calcium~!" Fiske began. Dan covered his ears. "Stop it!"

"What?" Fiske asked, his face confused as he looked toward Dan.

Nellie sighed and continued to search the fridge for her beef jerky. "I swear I put it in here last night…" she mumbled.

"Daniel! I haven't even started talking about the Folic Acid!" Fiske called to Dan who was still covering his ears while trying to eat his bacon at the same time.

"Aha!" Nellie exclaimed happily. "Found them!" she reached in to the very back of the fridge, trying to get to the bag of beef jerky.

"Daniel! Come on, Calcium helps give you strong, healthy bones and supports healthy blood pressure and at the same time promotes cardio-vascular health!" Fiske hollered.

Dan stood up, the hands on his ears gone and instead slammed upon the dining table surface.

"IF YOU'RE ANGRY AT ME FOR ACCIDENTALLY MIXING YOUR UNDERWEAR WITH NELLIE'S RED SHORTS THEN I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE'NT SUPPOSED TO MIX WHITE'S WITH COLORS!"

"YOU WHAT!"

"Gotcha!" Nellie gripped the plastic bag of beef jerky.

"You know what? Forget is said anything..." Dan said with a nervous grin on his face. Fiske glared at him. Dan chose to sit down and pick up his fork to resume eating his bacon. And then...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Time stopped.

Dan and Fiske paused, the remnants of their voices left in the air.

Nellie's hand still clung to the bag of jerky but stopped there.

About a second passed…

"OW!" Nellie screamed after her head made contact with the top of the fridge. Fiske dropped his glass of orange juice and it shattered to the floor, the liquid flowed out and spread onto the wooden boards of the dining room floor.

"Amy-? ACK!" Dan gagged as his bacon clogged into his throat.

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So this is my "fixed" version of the previous Chapter 1 of Fight with the Vespers. I know this might not be nice either but trust me; you do not want to see the old one. :) Hope you like this.


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion?

**39ninja's here with a revised and fixed version of Chapter 2 because frankly, the old Chapter 2 sucked. So this is just to make you all happy and what not. Enjoy and R&R.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, 39ninjas aka Me, does not own the 39 Clues. I'm not joking. Seriously. I'm not.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Reunion?

By: 39ninjas

Dan continued to gag and gasp as the whole piece of bacon was lodged into his esophagus, clogging all passage for air to breathe in. Fiske stood up, the spilled orange juice he had been praising just seconds ago left forgotten on the floor.

He quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver on Dan while Nellie was left to run to Amy's aid.

"AMY!" Nellie shouted, her voice laced with worry and anticipation. She ran across the Living Room and through the front door while pacing her steps as not to fall. Her training had come in use many, many times and this was one of them.

As Amy came into vision Nellie began running faster only for her to stagger at the sight of Dan's skateboard right in front of .

Nellie cussed under her breath and instantly leaped up, diving swiftly over the accursed skateboard and landing gracefully on her palms, bending ever so swiftly to arrive at a rolling motion and stopping with her knees buckled safely under her while doing and extraordinary eagle pose.

"Amy! You alright?" Nellie asked as she stood up, dusting her hands onto her jeans. Amy blinked, and stared at Nellie whilst raising an eyebrow.

"Well?" Nellie asked, her patience thinning. She would've expected at least a group of ninja assassins or something. Ugh, Dan was contagious.

"Well what?" Amy cocked her head to the side.

Nellie twitched. "What do you mean _'Well what?'_" she heightened her voice a fraction to sound like Amy when she spoke her previous line. Amy blinked, her forehead creased, expressing her worry.

"Amy!" someone shouted. When Nellie and Amy turned to look who it was they saw Dan and Fiske running toward them. Dan panted when he arrived to where his sister was.

"Amy? Are you OK? What happened? WHO ATTACKED?" Dan took her by the shoulders and shook her with fervor. Nellie separated them and looked at Amy.

"Kiddo, we heard you scream. What's wrong?" Nellie asked.

Amy beamed brightly. "You'll never guess what I found in the mail!" Amy said, her voice ecstatic as she held a piece of cream colored paper in her hands.

"A bomb?"

"Threat note?"

"Shrunken head?"

They all turned to Fiske. He smiled nervously. "What?" he said. Then they all turned back to Amy.

"Let me guess, that piece of paper." Dan said monotonously as he pointed toward the paper in Amy's hands. She nodded and smiled, turning the paper so they could all see it.

Dan read aloud,

"_Dear Amy, Dan, Fiske Cahill and Nellie Gomez,"_ he began.

"_We would like to cordially invite you to the Cahill reunion on Saturday this week, please wear proper attire.  
The get-together will be held in the Garden at Grace's newly constructed mansion around 12:30 in the afternoon. Please come alone and bring no one else that is not invited as said in this invitation. We hope you will attend and we highly discourage the bringing of any firearms to the gathering. This is a reunion not a hostage taking._

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. McIntyre"_

Dan continued to stare at the letter, or invitation to be more exact, then at his giddy looking sister.

…

"Are you kidding me? Seriously? You screamed because of _this_?" Dan asked, his hand gesturing to the invitation. Amy flushed. "What? It was just…such a big surprise!" she exclaimed.

Dan rolled his eyes. "That's so OOC." He said. Everyone turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What?" Amy asked.

Dan raised an eyebrow himself and coughed. "Er…Never mind." He said and looked once more at the invitation.

"So, here it is. We're all going to meet each other again. Wonderful…" Dan said with sarcasm draped all over his voice. Amy furrowed her eyebrows at her pessimistic brother.

"Dan! You should be ecstatic! Don't you want to see Jonah again? Or Alistair?" she asked.

Dan looked at her for a minute or two before a wicked smile crept up his face. "Sure I do. Though I'm not sure if you do." he said. Amy's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her hands on her hips as her mind tried to figure her brother out. Dan's eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

"I know you're only going for a certain olive-skinned, amber eyed, jet black haired, good looking, arrogant Britt." He said. Amy blushed.

"Who's name starts with an 'I' and ends with an 'n'." Amy's face began to redden and she could feel herself shrinking again. "Let me give you another hint. He's a Cahill, a Lucian to be exact. He has an obnoxious sister, A mother who tried to kill us several times and his whole name rhymes with Peean Kafra!" Nellie giggled while Fiske chose to…well…just go back into the house and clean up the juicy mess he made.

Amy glared hard at her brother before stomping passed him and into the house. Dan sighed and turned toward his sister. "Fine! How about this? _Lian' Cobra!_" he hollered. Nellie bonked him on the head before following Amy into the house. Dan squeaked in pain before trailing behind as well.

* * *

After a few minutes of cleaning up orange juice and picking on each other about crushes and nonexistent boyfriends they all settled down and sat at the dining room table.

Amy was munching on pancakes, Dan was finishing his bacon without chocking, Nellie was putting an ice pack on her still injured head and Fiske was scanning through the invitation once more.

"So who else is gonna be at the reunion?" Nellie asked to break the silence. Amy looked over to her and said, "Well, I'm sure all the clue hunting teams will be there but I'm not sure if anyone else will be…"

Fiske sighed and stowed the invitation into his pocket. "Pretty much rest of the Cahill clan I'm sure." He said. Amy looked at Fiske worriedly and asked, "Hey, is something wrong Uncle Fiske?"

He smiled at his late sister's beloved granddaughter and shook his head while taking a sip of his orange juice.

"I'm just kind of…irritated, you could say. I was…not informed of any of this." He said. Amy raised her brows. "Really? I would've expected that you'd be the first person to know!"

Fiske sighed and glared at the wall. "Exactly, but it seems my dear old friend McIntyre decided to keep it a secret."

Nellie laughed and patted Fiske on the back. "No need to be so down Fiske. It's a reunion that you weren't told about in advance, bid deal!" she said. Fiske rolled his eyes and continued to sip his orange juice casually.

"I still say you're excited about meeting the Cobra again." Dan said.

Amy glared at Dan, contemplating on whether she should stuff the bacon down his throat or not.

She had to admit though that ever since the clue hunt ended and after everyone gave their clues up to Amy and Dan she had begun to realize that Ian could actually be trusted.

That, my friend, is when the butterflies came back.

What used to be filled up with so much anger and melancholy was now replaced with butterflies. A thousand butterflies.

Amy hated it but what could she do?

Trust is a hard thing to gain but ever since then, Ian had finally proven himself to her. Alas, she was able to break the ropes that held on to her hatred for him.

It was almost gone now…

She was sure bits and parts of it were still there but for the past few months her hatred had been fading away ever so slowly, being replaced with something Amy couldn't quite define or didn't want to define just yet.

"Listen…I…I'm excited to meet everyone. Not…Not just Ian." She said, her face red. Dan smiled and nodded. "See! Told you, and don't think I don't feel the same way either. I'm excited about meeting everyone else too. Except the Cobra's."

Amy smiled and stood up, bringing her empty plate to the sink. Nellie chewed on a piece of beef jerky while leaning onto the kitchen counter. "Well, we better go buy Dan a new tux or something." Nellie said. Dan coughed, almost suffocating yet again on his delicious bacon. "Uck…Why a tux? Can't I just wear a black shirt or something? Or a white shirt and I'll just marker pen a tie on it!" he said, making drawing gestures in the air.

Nellie smiled wickedly and shook her head. "Hell no! We're buying you a tuxedo little man!"

Dan groaned and took his plate to place in the sink. "Wash your own plate, got it?" Nellie said, taking another bite of her jerky. Dan nodded and took the sponge from Amy.

"Well, let's just focus on being prepared for this week. Anything could happen at that reunion." Fiske said, his eyes on his glass of orange juice.

"Anything?" Amy questioned with a smile on her face, thinking it was just a little joke, while wiping her wet hands on a kitchen towel.

Fiske looked up at her, his face serious and his eyes stern.

"Anything."

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**Yeah, I still kept some things the same but anyway, hope you like this chapter. R&R and Blah, blah, blah. Thanks for reading and…Well, hope it didn't suck as much as the precious chapter. :3**

**Remember kitties: No flames, just constructive criticism. I learn from good reviews, I burn from bad.**


	3. Chapter 3: A New Friend

**Sup my peep's. Here's the new chapter. Enjoy and please no flaming, remember: good advice. **

**FIXED CHAPTER, BTW. :D Thank God I was able to fix it. **

**Now it's less horrible than the original one.**

**Disclaimer: I, 39ninjas, do not own the 39 Clues series.**

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Chapter 3: A New Friend.

By: 39ninjas

A gun shot.

Amy heard a gunshot and immediately froze. She looked around the room she was in.

She was in a broken down house with tables and chairs smashed and thrown everywhere, planks of wood lying around, windows broken, flies buzzing about along with rotting wood.

Then she smelled something strong.

She didn't know what it was but it was a dizzying smell and at the same time quite addictive, like the smell of a marker pen.

She walked around silently, careful not to touch anything that looked too breakable. Then she entered a room that looked like the kitchen and saw how messed up everything in it was.

The table was cut in half, the chairs were scattered practically everywhere, there wasn't a sink at all and from the looks of it, it had appeared to have been thrown out the window.

Amy could still smell it. That marker pen like aroma.

She could've sworn she had smelled that scent before but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Then suddenly a voice whispered throughout the house.

It was a distant voice but Amy could still hear it. Then it grew louder, loud enough for the whole room to shake.

"**Crabbed Age and Youth  
Cannot live together:  
Youth is full of pleasance,  
Age is full of care;  
Youth like summer morn,  
Age like winter weather;  
Youth like summer brave,"**

Amy immediately recognized a part of Shakespeare's poem 'A Madrigal'. She suddenly felt uneasy, as if someone was watching her, then all of a sudden, another voice came out of nowhere.

"_**Full of Courtesy, full of craft…**_

_**An empty bag cannot stand upright….**_

_**Pay what you owe and you'll know what's your own…**_

_**Speak little, do much…**_

_**Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead…."**_

Amy shivered. _'Those were __quotes from Benjamin Franklin…'_she thought.

Another wave of uneasiness hit her, like it was coming from different directions, aiming at her one by one. Then another voice…

"_You will do everything I tell you. Or I will kill the people you love."_

Then Amy felt her blood go cold. '_Isabel's voice…'_

Those were the very words she had said to threaten Amy and the others so they could give up their clues…

But now Isabel's in prison so there was nothing to worry about…

But Amy just couldn't shake off the feeling that another pair of eyes just came to watch her…

Then came another voice.

This time it felt…Warm but at the same time, urgent and grave.

"_Right before Grace died, A Madrigal agent intercepted a top secret message from the other family…A message with all sorts of threats…We had to be ready…"_

It was Fiske.

_'That was what he had said when he was telling us about that other family…'_

Amy pondered and shivered again.

She wanted to get out of that place and she wanted to get out _now._

She ran out of the kitchen quickly only to be stumbling upon another place.

It was their apartment.

It was dark and quiet; probably night time. Amy looked around and saw that the door was halfway open.

Her heart thumped. Then, at the corner of her eye, Amy looked over to the side to see a small flickering flame in the darkness near the stairs leading to everyone's rooms.

The flickering light illuminated on a face. A smiling face.

It appeared to be woman with beautiful pale skin and pink shimmering lips. Her face was curved in such a nice way, but she couldn't see her eyes, just her nose and lips.

She could tell that this woman was wearing a hoodie, probably even a cloak. The woman smiled even wider.

Amy felt her hands shake and her lower lip quiver. The woman before her looked up and had finally revealed her eyes whilst showing her pearly white teeth.

_"Youth is nimble, Age is lame, Youth is hot and bold, Age is weak and cold, Youth is wild, and Age is tame: Age, I do abhor thee; Youth, I do adore thee;"_

She whispered the continuation of Shakespeare's poem.

Amy felt her spine shiver, and the last thing she saw before the girl set off the flickering flame onto the staircase was her eyes, her ruby red eyes glowing in the fire.

* * *

"MS. CAHILL!" a voice boomed into the room.

Amy snapped awake almost immediately at the sound of a high pitched voice echoing into her sensitive ears, she looked around the room and saw her Literature teacher, Mrs. Alejandra, glaring at her.

"Ms. Cahill, if you wish to sleep in my class then I suggest you get out!" Mrs. Alejandra shouted angrily.

Amy quickly apologized and after a while her teacher decided to just shrug it off since this was the first time Amy, one of her best students, has ever done such an action during class .

Mrs. Alejandra continued with the lesson and Amy sighed in relief, looking up at the board to stay at attention.

Then, as she stared at it, she inwardly gasped.

There, on the board was the ever so famous Shakespeare Poem _'A Madrigal'_.

* * *

After Literature ended Amy walked over to her next class which was History.

'_Oh Hooray…'_Amy thought. She entered the classroom and sat at her usual place, the chair next to the window at the far left corner of the room. She placed down her bag and looked out into the blue sky.

She sighed, it just never ended. Sometimes Amy wondered how it would feel to just be born into a normal family.

Her parents would probably be alive right now, she and Dan would be normal kids in a normal family, and Dan would probably be too obsessed with video games to care about the lives of _any_ historical icons out there, well…as long as they were ninja's of course or something along the lines of that.

But the more Amy thought about it, the more she loved being who she was.

Being part of something special, being special. It makes you feel like you really are unique in this world. One of a kind and no one can take your place.

Our History teacher, Mrs. Evans, had just came into the classroom carrying her usual stuff but after she placed everything on the teacher's desk she let a girl into the class and told us to give a warm welcome to 'Angela B. Harper'.

There was only one way to describe the girl… _'Beautiful'_. **(A/N: Or Mary-Sue. :3 Just kidding...)**

She was absolutely magnificent.

She had white creamy skin and her face was shaped like a heart as if she were a porcelain doll. Her lips were a light, natural pink and her smile was heavenly like an angel.

She had long black silky hair that reached up to her waist and it was curled ever so lightly. Though the feature Amy noticed the most was how petite her arms and legs were yet she stood so tall and strong, no one would have ever thought.

She wore a purple jacket that was zipped halfway with a plain white tee inside, and Guess jeans with black Manolo Blahnik Caged Back zip heels on her feet.

'_A rich girl…'_Amy thought. '_Of course…'_

Those were one of the Top 10 most expensive shoes in America, even Amy knew. Natalie would be shamed. In fact, Amy wouldn't be surprised if this girl and Natalie were actually related.

The girl smiled at everyone and looked around carefully until her eyes stopped at Amy. She stared at her for more than 5 seconds and then shifted her gaze to the teacher. Mrs. Evans then directed Angela to a vacant seat which happened to be right next to me…

_'Oh Joy…'_Amy thought.

She already felt insignificant and ugly next to Natalie and all the other popular girls in her class; she didn't have to feel that even more especially when sitting next to this Angela person.

The Angela girl looked at Amy and smiled. "H-hello. I'm Angela. I-it's nice to meet you…" she sputtered out.

Amy's eyes widened. Did this girl right in front of her, the girl who had just come in here with so much confidence and poise, the girl who made every boy's heart flip just by the look of her…Stutter?

A wave of confidence suddenly rushed into Amy. '_Finally!_' she thought. _'A pretty rich girl who can stutter! I never thought they existed!'_

Amy snapped out of her reverie, smiled and shook hands with Angela. "Oh! Uhm…It's nice to meet you Angela! I'm Amy."

Angela shook her head timidly and directed her attention to the teacher. Amy had done so too but her attention was still on Angela, this beautiful girl who, a few seconds ago, was really shy in front of Amy, or just had a speech impediment.

Amy didn't want to think of those things right now. All she wanted to do was focus on the lesson.

"…And so Anne Bony had disguised herself as a man and sneaked away in a ship full of male pirates..." their teacher exclaimed.

'_On second thought, maybe daydreaming would do me some good…'_thought Amy.

Soon, time passed and History had ended. Everyone was about to go have their lunch and as Amy got up to have hers too she saw Angela still sitting in her chair nervously.

Amy felt a churn of sympathy for the new kid, Angela. So she walked over to her and asked if she would want to eat lunch with her. Angela smiled and nodded, not saying a word. Amy found this odd but didn't mind it so she and Angela quietly walked out of the room and made their way to the cafeteria.

Amy was glad. She loved making new friends, but soon that conclusion was doubted as she continued to talk to Angela, noticing her eyes.

Her deep, dark, ruby red eyes.

* * *

**Hi. I know it sucks but just give advice. I'm sleepy, it's 11:52 PM and I got somewhere to go tomorrow so…..Hope you all liked it and hope you all Review. Thanks. Gdnight everyone!**

**NOTE: It was really hard fixing this chapter. I have to admit that it's pretty hard editing bad work, especially if that work is yours. Oh well, I hope I did a good job anyway.**

**SIDE NOTE: No, Angela will NOT be a Mary-Sue. I'll make sure of that. Hopefully.**

**R&R and all that.**


	4. Chapter 4: Devil in Disguise

Hi , So here's chapter 4. And thanks to emeralgreenlove, amy-x-ian-forever and Natalie Kabra for reviewing and I guess I do need a beta reader…Anyway thanks for reviewing and I'll try to make it better as the story progresses but thanks anyway for the good advice. I really should fix my grammar a bit more…..Uhhhh…..Well, here's chapter 4. R&R

Disclaimer: Oh and I forgot to put this on it in the beginning of the story**: I DO NOT OWN 39 CLUES OR THE DA VINCI CODE.**

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Chapter 4: Devil in Disguise.

_It was just a dream…._

Amy had tried to get herself to think that what she saw in Literature Class was just a dream and that Angela wasn't_….Couldn't…_Be the girl with the ruby red eyes that set fire to her apartment.  
She was just too _nice…._

The girl had proven to be a really shy but nice person when Amy and her were eating lunch together in the cafeteria. It turns out Angela loves books as much as Amy does, stutters as much Amy _used to_ and seems to know as much as Amy. _Maybe not as much as she thinks…_ Amy thought.

When she and Angela were just talking about some random topic, Amy couldn't help but just be cautious of her. Angela was a nice girl but Amy's seen a lot of nice in her past and all of them were just faked out, plastic. Faking niceness just to get close to that someone so you can tear them to shreds when you're done with them, also, Angela's eyes were distracting; Amy couldn't help but look at them and be reminded of that woman in her dream who had attempted to burn her home. They both had the same porcelain like face, silky smooth voice, pink lips and eyes…. But it couldn't be possible….  
Then again, The Cahill life has many surprises….

Amy flinched at the touch of Angela's hand on her shoulder. "Amy? Are you alright? You were spacing out for quite some time now…." Angela's face showed true concern. Amy shook her head to get everything out and looked at Angela with a quivering smile, "Oh! I'm fine! N-No need to worry about me…" Amy spluttered out. Angela's forehead scrunched up, not believing in Amy's words but she soon decided to let it go. Amy bit her lower lip, an awkward silence followed suit and Amy didn't really know what to do. Amy swam in her head for possible things to do right now. They still had 45 minutes until lunch ended. The gears in Amy's head started moving at a normal speed until she could visualize a light bulb popping above her head. Then Amy decided to bring Angela to the library, her sacred place and a place she wished Angela would think sacred of too.

As the two girls sat down on the blue leather beanbags at the corner of the library reading area, Amy talked to Angela about a book she's been reading recently. "The Da Vinci Code?" Angela whispered softly in question. "Yeah, I really love this book, I'm done with it and the plot is really interesting. There's a lot of mystery and surprises." _Just like the clue hunt…_ Amy thought. She saw Angela's face scrunch up in concentration and then after a few seconds relax to make her face expressionless. Then Amy felt a chill run up her spine. That expressionless face reminded her a lot of Isabel, the face of the woman who murdered her parents.

_She caused that fire…._ Amy pondered, and then remembered her dream in Literature Class.

"_Youth is nimble, Age is lame, Youth is hot and bold, Age is weak and cold,__Youth is wild, and Age is tame:  
Age, I do abhor thee;__Youth, I do adore thee;" she whispered the continuation of Shakespeare's poem.  
And the last thing Amy saw before the girl set off the flicker flame onto the staircase was her eyes,  
her ruby red eyes glowing in the fire._

Amy felt the chill again. Was that woman the same as Isabel? Was that woman another plague sent down upon her and Dan? Amy didn't have any answers; no one could answer them right now. But she knew one person who could and that was…'_Mr. McIntyre' _Amy thought. She shifted her gaze until she met with Angela's piercing stare. "Amy, do you think it was right?" Angela asked. Amy raised her brow in confusion. She opened her mouth to ask 'what' but Angela beat her to it. "Unlocking all those secrets hidden in Da Vinci's paintings…" Amy straightened her back and looked up at the ceiling. "Well….I don't think so. I mean, what's the point in putting secrets in your paintings if no one were to find them out in the end?" stated Amy. She could hear Angela shift in her seat. "But what if Da Vinci only meant those secrets for a certain person? Not for the whole world. Like sending a secret message to a friend only to have it solved and read by someone else. Wouldn't that just be frustrating?" Angela said through her smile, which brought the image of Isabel into Amy's head. "W-Well…." _Crud! Don't stutter Amy!_

"Well….Yeah, it would be but…If that really were true then…Who was this person Da Vinci wanted to send his secrets to?" Amy stated. She saw Angela's smile falter a little.  
"Hmmm…I haven't really thought of that! Maybe you're right Amy. Actually, I've read that there are hidden biblical messages in Da Vinci's paintings and you know, they say that in the Last Supper painting that if you use a mirror on the hands of Jesus Christ you can see a holy grail. Same goes for the Mona Lisa; they say that if you use a mirror at the spot where Mona Lisa is pointing at, you can see a face!" Angela alleged. Amy nodded, already aware of this information. After she read the 'Da Vinci Code' Amy decided to do a little research on some of the secrets of Da Vinci's paintings. They were all pretty interesting but Amy couldn't help but let her mind drift to the 39 Clues. She started to wonder whether Da Vinci was a Janus or an Ekat. He had the artistry of a Janus but he also had the intelligence of an Ekaterina. He was a painter, a sculptor, an architect and a musician but he was also a mathematician, an engineer, an inventor and a scientist. _Da Vinci must have died really tired…_ Amy thought. Being all those things must have taken a toll on Da Vinci or at least given him some eye bags. Amy couldn't imagine herself having so many occupations like that.  
"Amy? You're spacing out again." She heard Angela say.  
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that." Amy apologized.  
"You've been doing that a lot lately. Is there a problem?"  
"Oh, there's no problem. There's just been a lot on my mind recently…" Amy shifted her gaze.  
"Really? What's been on your mind? You can tell me about it." Angela pressed.

Amy started to feel quite uncomfortable. She didn't trust Angela enough to tell her what she's been thinking. Obviously Angela would deny of any accusation put up against her and Amy didn't want to hear any defenses right now. And as if God had meant to save her, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and for all kids to go to their next classes. Amy felt her whole body relax by the sound of the ringing bell. She got up and stretched her muscles afterwards she looked down at Angela who was still seated on her beanbag. "Hey Angela, are you coming?" Amy asked. Angela looked up at Amy staggered, as if she had just been pulled out of her own reverie. _Wonder what she was thinking about…_ Amy thought. Angela just smiled and stayed where she was. "Your next class is Chemistry and mine is Study Hall so maybe you should just go ahead. Perhaps I'll see you at dismissal time." Angela assured. Amy just nodded and walked away. As Amy got out of the library she felt Angela's eyes over her, as if she was looking at her while she was walking out. Amy shivered for the umpteenth time today. _I'm going to have to talk to Dan about this… _Amy considered. But as Amy walked to her next class, a thought flashed in her head.

_How did Angela know my schedule?_

* * *

"Mr. Daniel Cahill, if you do not answer my question I will give you detention!"

"Oh really now? Why? So you can interrogate me?"

Dan Cahill was officially making a mess in his Chemistry Class.

"Why does this always happen?" one of the Students, Freddy, asked.  
"It's because that annoying Dan is so paranoid! I don't know what his deal is but whenever our teacher's in History, Chemistry or Biology asks him a question he always refuses to answer and then accuses the teacher of being some kind of spy or something!" another one of the students, Emma, declared obviously frustrated.

"Dan Cahill, don't you dare speak to me like that!" their Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Calousky, hissed. Dan stayed calm in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest with a suspicious expression.  
"Now, if you do not answer this question then it is detention for two weeks starting! One week for not obeying the teacher and another for delaying the class because of your constant prodding!" the teacher exclaimed in anger.  
"I repeat, what element stands for **Fe**?" Mrs. Calousky slowly asked.

Dan remained silent.

"Daniel Cahill, I am giving you **five** seconds to answer. One…" the teacher seethed.

Dan continued to stay silent.

"Two…"

Still silent.

"Three…"

Silence.

"Four…!"

"Easy: My Ass." Dan said.

And after class ended Dan was given **three** weeks of detention and the job to clean the gum off all the desks during 4th period starting next week. But Dan was still cool; at least he protected one of the clues from someone that could have been a secret agent. _Could have…  
_

Dan was bored, so he decided to go to his sister's class and walk home with her. He never really thought of ever doing that but he wanted to rub it in her face the fact that he protected the clues more than she did, which is every day. As he walked through the hallways of the high school he noticed just how messed up it was around there. Jocks bullying geeks, geeks walking around with their underwear seeping out of their pants from what was probably a wedgie, popular girls hanging out in a group, giggling and glaring at unpopular people, Goths, skaters, dancers, artsy, average and bookworms all around…Speaking of Bookworms.

Dan looked around for his sister everywhere. He went to look at her class and she wasn't there. Of course he memorized her schedule, with the obvious help of his photographical memory; he wanted to make sure his sister was safe so he memorized her schedule to know where she was at in a certain time and where she could be. Dan looked around yet no such luck. He went into the library and he _still_ couldn't find her. _Where else could she be? _Dan pondered for a while. He then decided to go to the faculty to see if Amy was there. _Maybe she's hanging out with her teacher's; they __**are**__ as boring as her…_Dan thought humorously. Just as Dan was walking in the halls towards the faculty he glanced towards his front to notice the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, walk toward him. She had the most angelic face, her hair looked so shiny and soft and her eyes were so alluring. Dan almost thought she was a real angel. But just as he passed by her, he noticed her eyes flicker towards him. He didn't know why but when she looked at him with those eyes of hers, his heart didn't skip a beat like he expected whenever a pretty girl passed by him. Instead, he felt cold. A chill went up his spine and he felt his hands quiver. As he looked at her face and expression more closely he noticed that she wasn't the angel Dan expected. It was like the whole picture was turned upside down or like it was a completely different painting; all Dan knows is that what he saw as angel, when looked upon closer, looked like a devil in disguise…

* * *

Dan was now walking aimlessly around the corridors of the high school building. He had even looked in the faculty and he _still_ couldn't find Amy. He even tried to peep into some of the girls' bathrooms to see if she was there. _Maybe she got kidnapped! _Dan thought, panicked. His heart started to thump uncontrollably. _Oh no! I have to find her! _Dan began running in the halls and was about to turn a corner when he accidentally bumped into someone, which happened to be his sister, Amy.

"There you are!" Dan exclaimed as he got up, rubbing his bottom.

Amy stayed silent for a while until Dan's voice registered in her head. "Dan! Oh…Uhm…Ow…" she said as she got up with the help of Dan. "What are you doing here?" she asked while rubbing her back. Dan smiled all goofy like and placed his hands on his hips in a triumphant look. "I came to look for you! I protected the clues from my evil Chemistry teacher!" Dan boasted.

"Again?" Amy cried out. Dan nodded happily. Amy sighed.  
"Dan, I'm proud of you for protecting the clues and all but seriously, I don't think your Chemistry teacher is a spy, Dan." Amy said. Dan's pose did not falter. "Well there's no harm in making sure!" he said. Amy rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes there is! Your grades are in harm and you don't want Nellie to kill you for failing in Chemistry and History now would you?" Amy warned. Dan sighed and went back to his former position. "Okay, okay, I get your point. But I just can't get used to life now. Not being in the rush, no adrenaline to boost me up and all." Dan explained sadly. Amy frowned.  
She felt this way too, she actually even missed the 39 clues life, the rush, the adrenaline, the adventure, even though they had almost gotten killed countless of times and learned many hurtful things, it made them stronger and Amy needed that strength for the upcoming future, she missed the adventure as much as Dan did but that didn't mean she had to pull gimmicks like Dan.

"I know Dan, it's been hard for me too but you're going to have to get used to it now or else you won't ever be able to live the normal life, even if it is just for a while." Amy said. Dan nodded.  
"Alright. I'll try not to cause so much trouble during History and Chemistry." Dan said.  
"Good..." Amy smiled. "But…! Only in History and Chemistry! The rest, I go crazy!" Dan stated with a laugh.  
Amy rolled her eyes for the second time. "I know." She said.

* * *

Dan and Amy had both walked home from school together and were now back in the apartment. Dan was playing on his play station while Amy was reading a book. Nellie left a note saying she was going to the grocery to buy more ingredients for their dinner and Fiske was upstairs taking a nap. Oh, it surely was a peaceful afternoon.

That is, until the doorbell rang.

"I got it...Again." Amy said, glaring at Dan on her way to the door,

"Busy. Beating. High Score." Dan said absentmindedly.

Amy rolled her eyes and opened the door.

You could just imagine her surprise upon seeing Mr. McIntyre there.

With a bleeding arm.

* * *

Sucks, I know. I am still looking for a beta reader. But hoping that I will so I can make this story much better. Please continue to R and also, I agree that Angela is kind of like a Mary Sue but I'll try to fix that…Maybe….I don't know. Anyway… Remember: No flames, just good advice.


	5. Chapter 5: The Vespers Have Risen

Hello again. It's 39ninjas here. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed and to those who added to their faves. I hope you like this chapter. Still don't have a beta reader…

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Do not own anything but the plot. And Angela.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Vespers Have Risen.

Nellie set down Mr. McIntyre's jasmine tea on the table in front of him and asked if he wanted sugar or cream with it.

"Oh, no thank you." Mr. McIntyre said.

Amy and Dan were ogling him now. He had just come in with a bleeding arm yet he acted so calm, as if nothing happened. After Amy let Mr. McIntyre in, she immediately went upstairs to wake up Fiske and tell him what's happened. Of course Fiske had quickly went down to see if his long time friend was alright and when he spotted his bleeding arm he had hurriedly went over to the Emergency Medical Kit in the kitchen and bandaged him up. After all that, Nellie came home and almost flipped at the sight of blood on the floor and Mr. McIntyre in the kitchen with a bandage around his arm. Amy and Dan quickly explained to Nellie what had happened and she seemed to take the information quite well. She had whipped up some jasmine tea for all of them and passed it around. Now, they all waited for Mr. McIntyre to explain his story.

"Hmmm…Now, where to start?" Mr. McIntyre pondered over.

"How about you begin with how you got that bloody arm." Nellie said.

Mr. McIntyre seemed to agree because he began straightening himself and cleared his voice.  
"Well…." he pondered. "It all started when I was preparing for the Cahill reunion this upcoming Saturday. I was looking for the right tea to serve at the reunion and I found this nice little shop called 'Tea Leaf' and I decided to try their tea out…"

"Tea Leaf! I know that place! They make the best Chamomile!" Nellie interrupted.  
"Oh yes! I tried that there as well! I was actually thinking of using it for the party but I was also thinking of using their green tea but-"

"GUYS!" Dan shouted. "Hello? Bleeding arm? How and Why?"

"Aah, yes. That. Sorry. Now, where was I?" McIntyre asked. Dan sighed.  
"At Tea Leaf." Dan said. McIntyre snapped his fingers.  
"Aah yes! So I was at Tea Leaf, a small shop in the town that sells marvelous tea. I had just finished buying their tea and was already coming out of the store when all of a sudden I saw a group of men walk out of an alley, at first I thought they were just a bunch of teenagers hanging out and having fun, like today's generation does, but then they suddenly approached me and cornered me into the alley. I was quite frightened, yes, until one man came into the front of the gang and approached me. He had threatened me and almost killed me too if it weren't for my fast reflexes and all..."

He then heard Fiske scoff through his tea.  
McIntyre just rolled his eyes and continued, "But they scathed me on the arm with their knives and gave me bruises here and there but what really matters is that I'm safe and that they didn't get the info that they wanted…" McIntyre sipped his tea and exhaled. Nellie looked from Amy to Dan and examined their expressions. Amy was, nonetheless, worried for McIntyre. He had been like a third uncle **(1)** to Amy and she didn't want to lose him. Dan's face, on the other hand, was scrunched up in concentration. It was the same face he had whenever he was playing Ninja Gaiden. Thinking capability needed to be heightened to the extent of explosion…But in this situation Dan was thinking the same thing Amy and Nellie were thinking.

'_That family..!' _Dan contemplated. It was obviously them. Dan had thought of it from the very beginning when Mr. McIntyre came into the room with his hemorrhaged arm. Now Dan was contemplating whether he should take out the…_you know what…._and drink it. Or do _something_ with it! Amy saw Dan's face scrunch up and she knew exactly what he was thinking. He gave him a _don't you dare _glare but it went unnoticed by Dan as he exclaimed "So, those men were trying to take the clues from you!" Dan alleged. "I knew it! It's that family isn't it! The one that wants Cahill clues! Well their definitely not getting their hands on them because we're gonna whip up the serum and get it over and done with so they'll have nothing to take!" Amy smacked her palm against her forehead in utter embarrassment. Why did her brother have to be such a dweeb all the time?

Mr. McIntyre fixed the tie on his suit and carefully stood from his seat. "Well, yes, Daniel. You are correct. It _is _the family that is after the clues…" McIntyre stated. He could hear Fiske shift slightly. "…But now isn't exactly the right time to 'whip up' the serum. Now is the time to prepare and keep the clues safe. The first thing you have to do now is to meet up with all your cousins and fellow clue hunters so that you can…You know, catch up on things. Ask about everyone's lives and ask how they've been doing." Mr. McIntyre said with a smile.

"Sounds more like an old people tea party to me…" Dan exclaimed, bored.

McIntyre was about to retort but then decided it wasn't worth it. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I came here to warn you Daniel; all of you. There is a threat rising upon us and that threat will be much worse than another that you have ever experienced." McIntyre explained; sweat trickling down from his forehead.  
"This is exactly why we should whip up that serum! I mean we-" Dan was about to retort uneasily until McIntyre silenced him. "Daniel, that will just make their job easier. If you already create the serum out of all the 39 clues that will just save them the job of having to get all the clues out of you. Dan, heed my words. It's not time for the serum to be made yet. There are still so much to prepare for." McIntyre took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and used it to wipe some sweat off his forehead. Dan looked down sadly. He knew what Mr. McIntyre said was right but he was just so curious about the serum. Ever since Dan held all 39 clues in his hands that very day on the beach of the madrigal stronghold he's been feeling this tiny sensation in his stomach and hearing this small voice in the back of his head. Sometimes the feeling was stronger and sometimes the voice was louder. It was telling him he should drink the serum…Become the most powerful person in the worlds so he could defeat this 'family' that was after them. Dan was scared and he didn't want to be defenseless against people that actually made _Isabel Kabra_ look like Mother Theresa. This feeling, Dan was pretty sure, was the feeling of **_desire_**. The desire to drink the serum and become all powerful. The desire to protect his family. The desire to be the super cool ninja he's always wanted to be. But there was also that other feeling that was stopping him from drinking the serum. There was that one thing in him that kept him from wanting this power so much and that was Dan's _humanity_. Dan saw how Isabel acted, and that was just _part _of the serum and Dan didn't even want to _know _how someone would act with the whole serum. He felt a chill run up his spine. What was he thinking? Did he _want _to drink the serum or protect his family from harm?

Dan looked up at Mr. McIntyre with an apologetic look. "I understand. Sorry Mr. McIntyre if I was too pushy…" Dan said with a tone of sadness in his voice. Suddenly Dan felt a warm hand gently pat his head. "Now, now Daniel. It's fine. I remember when I was your age. I wanted to do so many things but was not allowed to do them because, you see, my parent's didn't approve that I jump off the roof of our house wearing a cape shouting I was superman but I was **very** persistent and-"Fiske interrupted Mr. McIntyre's lecture just in time so he wouldn't get any _new ideas _to form in Dan's head. "Okay, William! I think Dan gets it." Fiske uttered, glaring at McIntyre. "Hm? Ah yes! I believe I must get going now…A lot to prepare for the Reunion!" McIntyre cried out and swiftly walked out of the kitchen with everyone else following suit.

"So I guess we'll see you at the reunion then, Mr. McIntyre?" Amy inquired.  
Mr. McIntyre nodded. "Yes you will! I hope you will all come and have a grand time!" McIntyre was about to walk out the door when he suddenly turned around and face Amy.

"Oh! And I almost forgot. Amy, please prepare a speech. You will be on stage to welcome all your relatives! Oh, and make it a nice long speech." McIntyre said before he quickly left out the door.

Amy stood there dumbfounded. "What?" she whispered before Nellie had closed the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air was cold and damp. No sound radiated off in the dark room. All that could be heard was the flickering of a lighter and the tapping of water onto the ground. The room appeared to be somewhere under the sewers. It smelled awful and held a quiet and eerie atmosphere. The person who was flickering a lighter on and off, though, didn't seem to care about her surroundings at all. She stayed quiet and was even smiling. Then a rumbling noise was made, and then suddenly there was a door at the side of the wall that had just opened, revealing 3 people in violet cloaks. They swiftly and quietly stepped into the room and stood near the girl who was flickering the lighter. "Progress report." one had said. The voice was manly and husky and held a demanding tone in it. The girl before him smirked and paused, leaving her thumb just inches away from turning on the lighter. There was nothing but silence and darkness that followed suit and the girl before the three people was taking her time to contemplate on what to say.

"Nothing much happened really. The girl doesn't trust me obviously. You know I'm not a good actor." She said, her voice silky and smooth. The man in front of her grumbled and shifted in his place.  
"We know that. But we expect you to get the job done. So we don't care whether you acting capabilities are of low quality, just find out where they are hiding the clues or else…" another voice said, this time a woman. The voice was high and held an aged quality to it. The woman speaking right now was most probably an old woman but seemed to have high authority in her voice. The girl in front of them scoffed.

"Or else what? You'll take away my allowance? Trust me guys, gaining their trust will be harder than ever and with acting skills like mine, we'll never get to our final goal." The girl said smoothly. She flickered the lighter on and off now, illuminating the figures in front of her. She heard one of them give a small 'tsk'. "Then what do you suggest?" a different voice stated. This time a young teenager, a boy. The girl before them felt a smile tug her lips. This time she left her thumb on the lighter and left the flame to illuminate her whole face. Her smile was sinister and her eyes were the same. She spoke with so much venom that it had even given a pang of pain in the three people that were before her.

"We will go with the direct approach; if they do not oblige. We kill them." She had said.

The three people before her had not even flinched at her words. They had just nodded in approval and left. One, though, had stopped by the door to the exit to turn to her. "We will leave it in your hands…" he had said and then he left. The door closed and the girl was left alone again.

She then began playing with her lighter once more and just stared at it. Her ruby red eyes glowing in the fire…

* * *

Hiya everyone. I know it's short but the next one will be long, I hope so at least. So, keep your pants on and wait for the next one! Hope ya like this chapter. Still don't have a beta reader….Well, bye!

**(1) **To me, it seems Dan and Amy has 3 uncles. Fiske, Shep, and Mr. McIntyre. I'm not sure but….Oh well!


	6. Chapter 6: Getting Ready

Hello everyone. Here's Chapter 6. ..Reader. I will ask friends if they can be my beta reader but for now…Bring on the grammatical errors! Anyway, enjoy. J The first part of this chapter is actually quite crack-like but the second part will be serious like so…yeah.

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own 39 Clues, People's Magazine or 90210.

Chapter 6: Getting Ready.

"Welcome Cahills one and all to the Reunion! I—No, I sound like a ringmaster in a circus… How about….My fellow Cahill cousins, it's good to see you all so healthy and happy. I have waited—No, that's stupid! Maybe….What's up? Let's get this party

started!—No! That's stupid too! Aughh! Dan! Help me with this!" Amy cried out to her brother who was evidently lying down on the couch reading his comic books. "Mnnn…" he moaned, too preoccupied with the latest issue of 'The Ninja Man'.

"Dan!" Amy whined. She then turned to Uncle Fiske. "Fiske?" she called. The man had a People's Magazine covering his face while snoring quite loudly, obviously asleep; Amy sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She could really use some help

right now. Ever since Mr. McIntyre told her she would have to say a speech in front of everyone during the reunion she started to freak out. She had began cramming for ideas on her speech, asking help from Nellie and Fiske (Dan would not even lift a

finger to help) and reciting her made up speeches right in front of them and then throwing them away when she thought they sucked. "Why me? Why not Dan? Or Fiske or Nellie?" Amy cried out. Dan did not reply but kept on reading his comic book. Amy

sighed. She felt as if she was ordered to carry a load of bricks and bring them all the way to the top of Mt. Everest. In short: Amy was nervous to the point of blacking out. She wasn't good in making speeches! Especially one's where she had to recite in

front of all her fellow cousins, who had tried to kill her countless times in the past. Amy was just about to give up when Nellie had come out of the kitchen with a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies in her hands. Dan and Fiske had immediately jumped

up from their daze and both exclaimed "COOKIES!" before they scrambled over to Nellie to grab one. "Hold on tigers!" Nellie said, stretching the plate of cookies far from Dan and Fiske's reach. Sometimes Nellie laughed at how similar Dan and Fiske could

be. She watched as Dan and Fiske's face twisted in

contempt. Nellie snickered and placed the plate of cookies on the living room table and sat down on the couch. "There, now you can eat em'!" Nellie said and without a doubt, Fiske and Dan quickly sat down on the couch and began scarfing down the

cookies. "Hey guys, save some for Amy!" Nellie yelled. She glanced over to Amy who was, shockingly, hitting her head against the wall repeatedly. "Amy? You okay kiddo?" Nellie asked, concerned. Amy glanced toward Nellie's direction and sighed. "The

warrior butterflies of the kingdom 'Nervous' are invading my stomach…" Amy stated dully. Nellie paused for a moment, trying to register what Amy had just said. Then Nellie's light bulb of all greatness shined bright above her head. "Oh! You must be

hungry! How about you come here and eat some cookies!" Nellie said, a big goofy grin plastered on her face. That grin soon disappeared as Amy began banging her head continuously on the wall again. Nellie raised a brow and looked to Dan and Fiske.

They were still scarfing down the cookies, not minding Amy. _When it comes to food these doofs are always on the go… _Nellie thought.

Amy's continuous banging was starting to get annoying after a few hours so Nellie decided to ask what her _real_ problem was. After much explaining, Nellie finally got it in her head.

"Oh! So that's it! Well why didn't you say so? You didn't have to go all 'butterfly' metaphor on me!" Nellie exclaimed and in just a few seconds Nellie had already grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and handed it over to Amy. "Just pour your heart

out! That's what people usually do in speeches!" Nellie said happily. "Pour my heart out?" Amy asked, staring down at the paper and pencil.

"Yeah! Pour your heart out! Tell them all that you want to tell them in that speech! I'm sure it'll be nice then!" Nellie exclaimed and sat back down on the couch, turning on the television to watch some 90210. Amy stared at the piece of paper in her hands. She

decided she would write the speech in her room and so she quickly ran upstairs and locked herself inside. She placed down the paper and pencil on her desk and began to think. _Pour my heart out, huh?_ Amy contemplated and she soon began to write

vigorously on the paper, pouring her heart _and_ soul out.

After a few hours, Dan began wondering where his sister had gone to. He had just finished reading his comic book and suddenly noticed that Amy's annoying sisterly voice wasn't radiating in the room. Dan contemplated whether he should go to check up

on her but then again, she would probably pester him about her speech again so he decided to just let it go and play Ninja Gaiden on his Play Station. _Level 2 here I come! _Dan grinned happily. Dan held the controller in his hands and waited for the game

to load until suddenly he heard a shout of "IM FINALLY FINISHED!" and dropped his controller. "Gah!" he jumped and quickly turned around to see Amy there beside the stairs, breathing heavily. "I'm done!" she said. "I'm done with the speech!" she

chanted happily. Dan felt as if the girl he was looking at right now wasn't his sister but some kind of mental patient that _looked_ like his sister. "Uhmm….Great. Can I read it?" Dan asked only to have the speech shoved right in his face. He swiftly took it

from Amy's shaking hands and slowly read it.

_TO ALL MY **FELLOW CAHILLS **IN THIS REUNION,_

_I **THANK YOU** ALL FOR COMING BUT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TELL YOU ALL **A FEW THINGS!**_

_WHEN WE WERE DOING THE CLUE HUNT, ALL OF YOU WERE **COMPLETE JERKS** AND **DOG TURDS **TO ME AND DAN! SO I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU ALL** JUST HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT!**_

**_FIRST OF ALL, _**_YOU GUYS ALWAYS SAID THAT WE WOULD **NEVER MAKE IT** AND THAT WE WOULD **LOSE THE HUNT!** BUT OHHHH! IN THE END ME AND DAN WERE THE WINNERS! **THE WINNERS! **AND SO **IN YOUR FACE! **HAHAHAHAHA! AND I WOULD ALSO_

_ LIKE TO STATE JUST HOW **BIG OF A JERK YOU, UNCLE ALISTAIR, WERE!** FIRST, YOU WANTED AN ALLIANCE WITH US **COUNTLESS TIMES!** BUT THEN…YOU **BETRAYED US COUNTLESS TIMES!** SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY JUST HOW MUCH OF A JERK AND_

_ AN **OLD FART** YOU WERE! AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO STATE ABOUT THE HOLTS OR SHOULD I SAY **DOLTS **IS THAT YOU BIG **FAT JERKS** HAD **ALMOST KILLED ME AND DAN BACK THEN IN PHILADELPHIA! **YOU GUYS HAVE EVEN **CHEATED **AND **USED **US A_

_ COUPLE OF TIMES! AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT **NONE OF YOU CAHILLS COULD HAVE EVEN WON THE CLUE HUNT IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME AND DAN!** YOU WOULD HAVE ALL BEEN **ROADKILL **BY THEN! OH AND I WOULD LIKE TO STATE **A WHOLE**_

_** LOT** ABOUT THE EVER **WONDERFUL KABRA'S! **YOU **SNOBS **WEREN'T EVEN **WORTH** THE TIME AND HELP ME AND DAN HAD GIVEN YOU BACK THEN! FIRST OF ALL, YOU, **IAN!** FIRST, YOU **INSULT ME**, THEN **FLIRT WITH ME**, THEN **BETRAY ME**, **HURT MY**_

_** FEELINGS**, FLIRT WITH ME **AGAIN**, I **SAVE **YOUR ASS AT MT. EVEREST AND THEN YOU **FLIRT WITH ME AGAIN!** YOU ARE THE **KING OF JERKS** AND YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A **MENTAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION **SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY ANYMORE! BUT_

_ PUTTING ASIDE THE FACT THAT **I KIND OF LIKE YOU**, I HATE YOU AT THE SAME TIME! AND NOW TO **NATALIE**, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE MOST **SNOBBISH FEMALE JERKS** IN THIS **WHOLE PLANET** AND YOU THINK OF YOUR WARDROBE_

_ MORE THAN YOUR OWN LIFE! SO **LOSE** THE WARDROBE AND **GET A LIFE!** AND THIS IS TO THE **SNOBBY STARLINGS** SURE YOU GUYS WEREN'T IN THE HUNT FOR A LONG WHILE SO I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT YOU THREE BUT IN THE **BEGINNING! **YOU_

_ GUYS WERE ALSO **BIG FAT JERKS** AND YOUACTED LIKE **COMPLETE SNOBS** TO ME AND DAN, YOU GUYS ALMOST **STOLE A LEAD TO A CLUE FROM US** BECAUSE YOU THREE ARE OBVIOUSLY **NOT SMART ENOUGH TO FIND YOUR OWN **AND SOMEWEHRE IN_

_ THE END YOU GUYS CALLED US **MOUTH BREATHERS** AND **LOSERS!** THAT'S RIGHT! **I HEARD YOU!** SO HERE'S A LITTLE MESSAGE TO YOU: **YOU THREE ARE JUST AS BAD AND AWFUL AS YOU WERE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE CLUE HUNT TO THE END**_

_** AND YOU THREE SUCK!** AND HERE'S A MESSAGE TO **JONAH WIZARD**, THE EVER **POPULAR GANGSTER JERK** WHO ALMOST TRIED TO KILL **US AND KIDNAPPED MY BROTHER!** YOU MAY THINK YOUR'E **COOL AND ALMIGHTY** BUT REALLY…**I DON'T CARE!**_

_YOU'RE **A JERK** AND **I HATE YOUR MUSIC!** SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU ALL! YOU WERE ALL **BIG FAT JERKS BACK THEN!** BUT NOW….You're all not so bad anymore so thank you for coming and I missed you all. :)_

_Sincerely,_

_Amy Cahill._

Dan's eye twitched. Maybe this _was_ a mental patient that looked like his sister.

Dan looked up at Amy, who had a bright smile on her face. And almost immediately he swatted her head with the speech she made. _It felt so good how the tables were turned in this situation… _he thought happily. "What were you thinking? Are you_ really_

gonna read _this_ at the reunion?" Dan barked at Amy. Amy hung her head low. "But….Nellie said that if I pour my heart out in the speech, it would be nice." Amy whispered. Dan felt a vein pop in his forehead.

"NELLIE!" Dan bellowed.

Soon, Nellie came rushing down the stairs with her iPod in one hand and the ear buds flailing everywhere by her sides. "What's wrong kiddos? Where's the fire?" Nellie exclaimed. Dan glared at her so hard Nellie almost felt as if a hole was burning

through her. "Uhm…Did I do something wrong?" Nellie asked. She was answered by a piece of paper shoved in her face. Nellie raised a brow but then succumbed to reading the paper. After a few minutes the paper slowly fell out of Nellie's hands. Nellie

was shaking. _What the hell? _She thought. How could Amy, the girl who couldn't even hurt a fly and even a mosquito, write what seemed to be like a death threat mixed with a homicide note? Amy looked between Dan and Nellie. She didn't really know

what the problem was and why Dan and Nellie were so flabbergasted. She was just trying to express herself. Nellie then crumpled up the piece of paper in her hands and hid it behind her back. "Uhm….Amy? I think we need to have a talk…" Nellie said as

she guided Amy to the couch and asked her to sit down.

"You see, Amy. When I meant to 'pour your heart out' I didn't really mean to pour the **_whole_** thing out! I mean, that was a very…uhm…lovely speech of expression and all but…I don't think it would be very….nice to say it as a speech in the reunion. Remember what the invitation said? It's a reunion, not a massacre. And you don't want to turn it into a massacre now don't you?" Nellie explained as if she were talking to a preschooler. "I….guess so…" Amy said. _  
Guess so? _Dan thought.

Nellie smiled wearily and patted Amy's head. "Okay kiddo. Maybe you should just rest for now and I'll help you with your speech tomorrow." Nellie said smoothly.  
Amy smiled up at her and nodded. She quickly went upstairs and went to bed. Nellie sighed in relief and looked over at Dan. He still held that glare of his. "What? I fixed the problem didn't I?" Nellie said.

Dan just shrugged and walked up to his bedroom to get to sleep too. Now Nellie was alone in the living room. She slowly took out the speech Amy had made from behind her back and read it again.

Oh yeah, she was keeping this.

* * *

Approximately three days have passed; Amy and Dan lived their normal lives and cherished it for as long as they could. Dan tried not to make so much trouble in Chemistry and History class which evidently brought tears of joy to his teacher's eyes. Amy spent her time studying hard and actually trying to communicate and hang out with her other classmates, she's even been seeing Angela a few times but now a day's she's been distant and didn't talk with Amy much. Then it came, the day they've all been waiting for.

**Saturday: 12:25 in the afternoon. At Amy and Dan's Apartment.**

"Dan! Hurry up or else we'll be late!" Amy bellowed from outside of Dan's bedroom door.

"Alright, alright! I'm hurrying! And for your information, it's still 12:25!" Dan hollered at Amy from across the room. Amy didn't listen for she was already running into her room to get her newly made speech which was on her study table. She quickly

snatched it from under some of her notebooks and ran out of the room toward the bathroom. Amy instantly grabbed her toothbrush from the plastic cup in front of the mirror, squeezed some minty toothpaste onto it and began vigorously brushing her

teeth. Nellie passed by the bathroom just as Amy spat in the sink and ran out, bumping into Nellie in the process. "Whoa kiddo! Slow down! We've still got plenty of time before the party starts!" Nellie said, trying to calm the ruffled teen. "I know! But you

know what they say; the early bird catches the worm!" Amy babbled and ran off downstairs before she could hear Nellie shout "WHAT WORM?"

Fiske was in the kitchen now, looking at himself in the mirror.

Fiske carefully fixed his tie. His face scrunched up in contempt. Then he fixed it again. He was _still_ not pleased with the way his tie was arranged so he decided to take the whole thing off and tie it all over again. Fiske was just about to tie it perfectly when Amy had suddenly barged into the kitchen and bumped into Fiske, causing his hand to slip and nearly choke him to death. Amy quickly opened the drawer near the sink and grabbed Nellie's car keys. She then quickly ran out of the kitchen, paying no mind to the now chocking Fiske.

"Hey Guys! Hurry up!" Amy shouted from outside of the apartment building. Nellie, Dan and the coughing Fiske were hurriedly running out of the apartment and into Nellie's "environmentally friendly" Ford Escape Hybrid. With the money that they got from the 39 Clue's Hunt, they decided to buy Nellie a little something as a reward for all her help back then and even now. "Amy, it is approximately…." Nellie began.

"I know! We've got to hurry up!" Amy interrupted while leaning against her seat.

"…12:28…." Nellie continued. Dan could feel a vein forming in his forehead again. Why did his sister have to be so….Well, you know….

"THEN WE HAVE TO HURRY! IT'S ALMOST 12:30!" Amy shouted in Nellie's ear. Nellie's ears rang and her vision blurred a little until she sighed and decided to go along with Amy's little drift. Nellie stepped on the gas and they were soon on the road toward Grace's Mansion.

"Geez, why so in a hurry Amy?" Nellie asked while she kept her eyes on the road.

"Well, I just can't wait to see Uncle Alistair and—and Hamilton and…"

Dan silently scoffed an 'Ian!' which had effectively earned him a hit on the shoulder from his _beloved_ sister.

After a few minutes of driving, foreign pop/country music from the radio, arguing from Amy and Dan and a game of 'I Spy' they had finally arrived at Grace's mansion. Nellie was slowing down now. She found it odd that she was having trouble looking for a parking spot.

"Why are there so many cars?" Dan asked as he leaned forward from the backseat. Nellie was looking from left to right and all she could really see was ton of cars parked everywhere.

"Okay, it's either we're at the wrong place and we've stumbled upon the mall during their 50% Off Sale week or everyone spent their money on a dozen cars." Nellie contemplated. Amy looked around and felt her heart lighten at the sight of Grace's

mansion. It was whiter, bigger and better than ever! Dan had seen as well and also felt his heart flutter with happiness. Amy began scouring the whole place with her eyes while they were still in the car, she kept a good look out for a parking spot so

they could get out of the car already and see everyone else. Amy kept her hands on the door handle, biting her lip in anticipation. Then came a blessing from God. A parking spot, right next to a small tree near the side of Grace's mansion. "Nellie look!

Over there! A parking spot!" Amy exclaimed in excitement. Nellie must have seen it because right then and there, she stepped on the gas pedal and quickly drove her way over there. Amy smiled and glanced out the window, her smile soon faded away at

what she saw. Dan noticed this and tapped his sister on the back. "Hey Amy, you okay?" Dan asked. Amy slowly turned to face him, her face pale in fear.

"Dan, is it just me or do I see Aunt Beatrice outside talking to Mr. McIntyre?"

And then Fiske chocked on his tie again.

* * *

Hope it was nice. I am trying to do better and improve my story, I was thinking about getting my friend as a beta reader, because I like it better when I can talk/ consult with my beta reader face to face. So, I hope you liked it and I hope, with the help of my soon to be beta reader, the next chapter will be like too. :) Oh, and if you're wondering, Amy and the others are so surprised to see Aunt Beatrice there because she thought only the "Clue Hunters" would be there. So….Yeah. Oh, and It's kind of hard to edit this thing, every time I put spaces on it, in the end when I look at the preview, it's still all mashed up together! ITS SO FRUSTRATING! Help...


	7. Chapter 7: A Heartfelt Greeting

Hey guys, here's the new chapter! I know I'm pretty fast in updating, the reasons for that are…

1.) Because whenever I come home from school I immediately go on to the computer and type my heart out.

2.) My chapters are short. (Most valid reason)

So, here's chapter 7! Hope you like it! Oh, and guess what? I HAVE A BETA READER NOW! It's my friend…I'd like to thank her and hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

* * *

Chapter 7: Heartfelt Greetings.

Dan's blood went cold. Aunt Beatrice? What was she doing here? What did she want with Dan and Amy? Was she here to get them back or something? No, that couldn't be it. Even if she tried he was sure she couldn't be able to even lay her wrinkly finger on Amy and Dan. Mr. McIntyre would make sure of that. Then what was she doing here?

As Amy, Dan and everyone else got out of the car, Amy held onto Dan's hand. He could feel it shaking. Dan squeezed her hand tight and walked forward.

"Amy! Dan! There you two are!" they heard Mr. McIntyre call out. He walked to them and patted them both on the shoulder. Amy smiled wearily and nodded to Mr. McIntyre. Dan's face still held one of discomfort as he looked from Mr. McIntyre's welcoming face to Aunt Beatrice's intense glare. She hadn't changed a bit, she still had the same wrinkly and crabby face, still had the same murderous glare and the same killing aura surrounding her, so I think Amy and Dan were up for a whole lot of trouble. Mr. McIntyre noticed Dan's stare and quickly turned to Beatrice and then back to Amy and Dan.

"I…uhm….See you're very surprised. " McIntyre said sheepishly.

"Surprised? Oh, Naw! Of course we're not!" Dan said, sarcasm seeping from his words. McIntyre sighed and leaned forward to whisper to Amy and Dan.

"I believe I forgot to tell you one of the most important details here. You see, this is a _Cahill Reunion _which means that _all _Cahill's are invited—" McIntyre began.

"Even the crabby ones?" Dan interrupted.

"Even the crabby ones." McIntyre said, leaving Dan in dismay. "You see, not only are your fellow clue hunters here but also your…_Other _relatives whom you don't see much."

Dan gulped and glanced to the side to look at Aunt Beatrice again. She was _still _glaring. "Oh, well thanks a lot for the information Mr. McIntyre, you've been a big help." Dan said with the sarcastic tone. He could feel Amy's hands shaking again and squeezed it tight once more. McIntyre sighed and wiped some sweat off his forehead with his handkerchief. Then he spotted Fiske, walking briskly toward him.

"Fiske! Welcome to the reu-" Mr. McIntyre was about to say before he was silenced by Fiske's immense glare.

"Uhhh…Fiske?" McIntyre said, trying to get his old friend's attention. Then he was met by another wave of Fiske's icy glare. McIntyre gulped  
and backed away a little. "Uhm, did I do something wrong?" he asked. Then he was answered by a quick shove of a necktie to his face. "You….You never tell me anything! You never even told me about Beatrice being here! Or that this was an _all Cahill _reunion! And now, as punishment you will fix my tie for me whether you like it or not, and if it's not perfect the way I want it to be, you're doing it over and over again till' it is!" Fiske shouted angrily at his companion. McIntyre stared long and hard at Fiske's necktie; he backed up even more as he adjusted his own. "Maybe we can talk things out Fiske…" Mr. McIntyre tried to explain.

But it was too late; Fiske was on the run. "DON'T YOU GO ALL LAWYER ON ME MCINTYRE! COME HERE AND FIX MY TIE!" Fiske yelled as he ran after Mr. McIntyre, holding out his necktie.

Dan backed away a little. _Weird…_ he thought. He then looked over to Amy who wasn't shaking anymore, since Aunt Beatrice had already walked off, and had already went back to her normal posture. He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest in a brave way. "Well, look at that! Now Mr. McIntyre is getting what he deserves! Ha!" Dan babbled to his sister. At first he thought his sister would go crazy and start to shake or go hide under rock but Amy seemed fine. She didn't shake, blush, stutter or even talked for that matter. She was just standing there, an amused expression on her face. Dan felt odd about this. "Hey Amy, why aren't you so…Well, you know….Surprised about all this?" Dan asked. Amy shifted in her position from one leg to the other.

"Well, I am surprised actually. It's just that…" her smile broadened. "Guess who was staring and laughing at Fiske and Mr. McIntyre a while ago?" Amy said her smile so broad that it showed her teeth. Dan raised an eyebrow and thought about it for a while, he _did _hear laughing a while ago during Fiske and McIntyre's little "show". He paid no mind to it though, thinking it was just a bunch of other Cahill's laughing and chatting about something. Dan was about to ask his sister what she wastalking about until two pairs of hands grabbed Dan's ankles and pulled him backward causing him to fall straight down the ground face first. Dan groaned in pain and tried to get up, coughing out some grass and dirt as he did, and when he turnedaround he was faced with the bright smiling faces of his delightful cousins—

"Hey buddy, how ya been?" a manly yet young voice asked.

—The Holts.

"Hamilton!" Dan shouted in joy, he quickly tried to stand up from the ground and after succeeding was, in no time, soon in front of Hamilton. He ruffled Dan's hair in a brotherly manner and flashed a smile toward Amy who smiled back.

"Hey! Don't—" Madison began, smiling.

"-forget about us!" Reagan continued, smiling as well. Both girls ruffled Dan's hair and he had backed away by the force of it. Nellie had arrived on the scene and went in front of Dan, shielding him from the girls. "Hey now! You know how long it took me

to comb _and _put gel on Dan's hair?" Nellie said, not exactly angry but more in a joking tone. Reagan and Madison both flinched in disgust as both of them felt the gel on the hands they used to ruffle Dan's head. "Ew! Gross, dude!" Madison spat, wiping

her hand over the pants of her purple tracksuit. _They still wear their tracksuits… _Dan smiled. He then yelped at the feel of another hand ruffling his hair, this time the hand was bigger and more muscular. He looked up to see the grinning face of

Eisenhower Holt and his wife, Mary-Todd Holt, behind him. Dan squeaked and jumped back. Dan was alright with Hamilton and his sisters but his parent's, especially Eisenhower, he felt uncomfortable with. Even now he still remembers Eisenhower as the

guy who helped in the murder of his parents, but that image was starting to fade away little by little. Sooner or later it will fade away completely…

Dan smiled up at Eisenhower and nodded to him. Eisenhower nodded as well and glanced toward Amy's direction. Amy flinched a little. _She feels the same way… _Dan noted, but she soon be

began to smile up at Eisenhower too. "Nice to see you again...U-Un—Uncle Eisenhower…." Amy shakily declared. Eisenhower widened his eyes at this, so did Dan, Hamilton, his mom and his sister's too. After a while, Eisenhower's face softened and he

smiled. "Hey! Uhm…..Amy." Eisenhower uttered. He still had a long way to go. Amy just giggled and looked to Hamilton. "Man, long time no see, eh?" Amy said. Hamilton nodded and ruffled Amy's hair too. "Sure has! So, what have you two been up to?"

Hamilton asked.

"Oh you know, living the normal life, going to school, going to bed, no worries at all…" Dan stated dully. He was so relieved now that _that_ was all over. Though he had to admit that he'd actually miss the normal life but right now, he needed the thrill. Amy

was about to tell Hamilton her answer in a more _detailed _way until she heard a voice behind her.

"Well, you two have grown taller, that's to say."

Amy immediately turned around and was then staring at the face of the used to be worldwide burrito magnet, Alistair Oh.

Amy gasped, and then she found herself instantaneously hugging Alistair. He was surprised at this but soon succumbed to the hug. "Uncle Alistair!" Amy cried out. "It's been so long! How are you?" Amy said as she let go of Alistair and looked up at him. "Where did you go after the clue hunt? Did you go back to Korea? How are you holding up? Is—"

"Okay, okay Amy. Relax, I'm doing fine. I did go back to Korea after the clue hunt; I stayed there and rested until I received the invitation for the reunion. Wonderful isn't it?" Alistair interrupted her with a laugh. "Now, enough about me, how about you

and Dan? How are both of you doing?" he asked, tears welling up in his eyes at the sight of them. Amy looked so much more like Hope every day and Dan did too as Arthur. Dan smiled his big goofy grin and answered Alistair's question for Amy. "We've

been doing okay, no threats or attempts at murder if that's what you guys are trying to say." Dan said humouredly. Hamilton ruffled his head once more while getting him in an arm lock. "Well then that's good! Cuz' I wouldn't want my little buddy to get

hurt!" he said, laughing. Amy felt her heart lift up with so much joy she felt as if she was flying. She never thought she'd feel _this _good about seeing again the very people who tried to kill her countless times before. Amy looked around Grace's garden

where they were having the reunion, she saw Grace's beautiful rose bushes, her big and green apple tree's and the patches of the many variety of flowers she got from around the world. She saw that there was also a mini-stage there at the foot of the

garden with a podium on it, obviously where Amy was going to recite her speech, and the tables before it. Amy was now observing the many tables and people that were there. She noticed that in one side of the garden with 3-5 tables sat one branch

and another sat another branch. I guess no matter how much work the Madrigals do the Cahill's still can't trust each other. Amy then noticed one table that was by the stage, it was different from the others. Then Amy's heart lifted higher. "Hey guys,

let's sit over there at that table." Amy said, and then she grabbed Dan's hand and dragged him toward the table with everyone else following behind. When they got to the table Amy smiled at the sight of another bunch of her cousins...

Sinead, Ned and Ted Starling with the ever popular Gangster of the Month, Jonah Wizard. Dan's eyes widened at the sight of them, and then he began greeting them with his usual happy atmosphere.

"Hey Starlings! Wassup Jonah! How's—"

"YO! YO! YO! YO! YOOOOO! Wassup Dan!" Jonah immediately leaped up from his seat and went on with his whole gangster get up. "Yo dawg, it's been so dang looong since I seen ya'll! Look at ya'll! You so tall and grown up! I think I here got some

tears in my eyes!" Jonah babbled on. Amy cringed by the loudness of his voice while Dan was…Well, smiling. Jonah lifted up his fist and he and Dan both did a fist bump together. "Yo Jonah! How's it hangin'?" Dan said in his own little gangster get up.

"Yo man, all's good! All's good!"

"Fo' serious dawg? Where you been at all this time?" Dan lifted up his hands and began swinging them forward in the air in front of him for a whole gangster feel.

"Yo man, I was at Washington doin' me a concert, then I went to L.A. then Chicago! I've been all around the place man!"

"Aw dude! I'm so jellin' on you! I've been stuck on school for like decades now!"

"Man! It's aigh't man, its aight. You know time passes and all." Jonah finished, shaking his head. Sinead sighed heavily.

"What complete idiots…" she muttered. That was when Amy noticed the shiny scars on Sinead's wrists since she was wearing a button down that was showing them, and then she saw Ned and Ted. Ned had a bandage over his forehead and Ted had a

one over his eyes. Sinead noticed Amy's staring and decided to fill her in.

"Ned and Ted decided to have the surgeries. It happened about 2 months ago and it still needs more time to heal." Sinead explained. "Oh, and it's good to see you again Amy Cahill." She added before smiling. Ned and Ted had also greeted her and Amy

warmly welcomed them all. She then took a look at Jonah who was now surrounded by Dan and The Holt siblings. He was probably teaching them how to talk in gangster. Amy walked over to them and said her hello's to Jonah. "Yo! Wassup Amy? You

look taller!" Jonah smiled and gave her a hug. Amy accepted the hug and looked at Jonah carefully from top to bottom. He hadn't changed a bit, well maybe his gangster vocabulary has expanded since the last time they met but when your a hip-hop

gangster star, who wouldn't expect you to get more gangster? Amy then looked around some more. She spotted some faces that she recognized but didn't quite know that well. She spotted Cousin Ingrid chatting with Uncle Jose near the far back of the

garden, by the stage. She saw Cora Wizard, Jonah's mom, sitting with other Janus in a big table. She saw Devin Cooper, an Ekat who she didn't know personally but she's heard about him a lot, him being a tree house engineer of the Ekaterina's and all.

Then she saw Sophie Watson, she didn't know her personally as well but she's seen her on the newspaper a couple of times, she was a Janus Dancer, she first saw her on the newspaper where Natalie Kabra wrote a review about her and her "awful

ballet costume". Then something clicked in Amy's head. Speaking of Natalie _Kabra_….

"You look as beautiful as the last time I saw you, love." A voice said behind her.

Then Amy's heart stopped.

* * *

Well, that's it! Hope you liked this chapter. I'm sure you know who the owner of the voice is so I don't have to explain. I thank my beta reader and my computer for always being there for me. (Mostly my computer). Oh, and if you're wondering, the people Amy saw in the party were not made up, if you wanna know who they are go search for 'List of 39 Clues Characters' on Google or Yahoo...

Thank you for reading.

R&R pls. :)


	8. Chapter 8: Loved, Hated and Fallen

Hey everyone. Here's the new chapter. My beta reader/ friend has been kind of busy these past few days so I decided to just edit myself. Even though my-self editing sucks….Sorry.

Hope you like this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8: Loved, Hated and Fallen.

Amy slowly began to turn around. She felt her lower lips quivering and her hands sweating. Her mind was whirling, her vision was starting to blur a little and her stomach churned with the many butterflies fluttering inside.

Amy was now fully turned around.

Then she was met with the smug face of Ian Kabra.

Amy felt her heart just stop for a millisecond in time, maybe even a whole second. There he was, in all his Kabra-ish glory. He was wearing a Black Valentino Silk Flat Front 2-Button Men's suit with Johnston & Murphy Durant Penny Loafers on his feet. He

looked as handsome as ever, maybe even more. She tried to bring herself to speak but nothing was coming out. She tried to open her mouth but her lips were just stuck together like glue. She tried shifting her eyes elsewhere but they were also stuck

like glue to Ian's face. Then Amy remembered how much of a fool she used to make of herself before, during the first few weeks of the clue hunt. When they were in Korea, Ian leaving her for dead in that cave. Amy tried to shake it off. She didn't want to

remember those awful memories. She wanted to start a new now. She searched herself; she tried to find that strength she had. After what happened in Korea, whenever Ian showed up Amy always had this wall she carried around that was built just for

him. A strong steel wall with a giant sign saying: NO IAN KABRA'S ALLOWED. Amy was looking for that wall that held all her strength to fight the nervousness she always had whenever she saw him. Then she finally found it when she saw how Ian's eyes

shifted. Again, it was like a whole new picture had just been placed in a whole new angle. From his smug, expecting face to one of….Genuine adoration. His eyes were so soft, as if he understood her so well and knew she needed time to talk back after

all that's happened. But then there was also that tinge of sadness in his eyes. He probably thought Amy was frightened. As if she didn't want to see him. Amy didn't want him to think that, so she quickly composed herself and gave her most happiest and

genuine smile ever.

Ian flinched.

"Ian! It's so good to see you again!" Amy exclaimed in happiness. She suddenly stepped forward and gave him a big hug which surprised pretty much everyone. Ian flinched again. Amy let go and smiled at him. Ian was still a little zoned out but then snapped back into reality.

"Aah….Yes, it had been a while. How are you doing?" he said in his silky British accent.

"I'm doing fine. These past few weeks have been nothing but normalcy for me and Dan." Amy replied in a sweet tone. _Good job Amy! No stuttering…..yet. _Amy thought as a small bead of sweat started to trickle down her forehead. Amy quickly wiped it away and directed Ian to a seat on the table.

"How about you take a seat? The reunion hasn't really started yet so-" Amy began until she was suddenly hit in the back of the head by what seemed to be a…._Silk glove?_

"Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting someone?" a British female voice said behind her. Amy had spun around, she was spinning around a lot today wasn't she, and was looking at the angelic like face of Natlaie Kabra, the ever elusive sister of Ian Kabra.

She looked as beautiful and graceful as ever. She wore a nice silk violet sundress, with a Big & Tall Notched Leather belt around her waist to add class, on her feet were Per Una Suede Jewel Embellished Court shoes. Her hands were covered with

matching violet silk gloves. Natalie was just putting back the silk glove she used to slap Amy's head with on her hand.

"Oh….Natalie! I-It's good to s-see you!" Amy said. _Great, I can't stutter in front of Ian but I can in front of his sister…_

_"_Hmph!" Natalie turned her head and passed by Amy, allowing herself to be seated next to Ian at the white table. Amy felt sort of guilty for forgetting Natalie so she walked over to where the Kabra's were seated and sat next to Natalie. Everyone had

already taken their seats at the same table. Jonah next to the Holts, the Holts next to Dan, Dan next to Nellie, Nellie next to Alistair, Alistair next to the Kabras and the Kabras next to Amy. Amy eyed Dan and saw him look a little in between nostalgic and

sick. Dan eyed Amy and did a little gagging action. Amy glared at him and Nellie poked him in the ribs with her elbow. Dan cringed and rubbed his chest in pain. Amy saw Natalie smile in humor as she eyed Dan in pain. Amy shuffled in her seat and was

about to open her mouth to apologize to Natalie when Mr. McIntyre suddenly came, all sweaty and out of breath.

"Well, -pants- it looks like -pants- everyone is -pants- here!" McIntyre exclaimed, panting. Fiske was right behind him, panting as well but his tie was exceptionally neat.

"Mr. McIntyre? Are…You two okay?" Amy asked, quite concerned. Fiske gave them a thumbs up even while he was panting like crazy. "Oh-pants- we're fine! -pants- .My tie is wonderful isn't it?" Fiske exclaimed as he held up his tie gleefully. Dan

sweatdropped, anime style.

"Oh…Okay….How about you two take seat?" Amy said. McIntyre held up his hands, declining the offer. "No need my dear, me and Fiske already have seats, in the Madrigal section." He answered. Amy raised an eyebrow. "Madrigal section? I don't get it

Mr. McIntyre. You say you want all the Cahill branches to get along but why seat all branches into sections besides us?" Amy asked. McIntyre just simply smiled. "Well, you see dear. Not _everyone _in the Cahill family knows about the little 'truce' you all plan

to set up for them. This is why you will all tell them in your speech!" Fiske announced. Everyone seated at the table looked at Amy.

Amy felt herself start to shake. She had forgotten about the whole "speech" thing. But it was alright…She came prepared and ready. She can do this! I guess…

"Amy? You will announce a speech?" Ian asked her. Amy nodded timidly and held out a small piece of folded paper. "My speech…" she said. Ian smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then good luck! I'm sure you'll do great!" he said.

"Aww, how friggin' charming." Dan exclaimed in disgust. Ian twitched and glared at Dan. "Daniel, it's so good to see you again." Ian seethed. Natalie gave her nod of acknowledgment.

"How many friggin' times do I have to tell you Ian? It's **Dan. D** to the **A** to the friggin' **N**!" he said. Ian smirked. "Riiight…" Ian said and lay back on his chair.

"Curse you Ian Kabra!" Dan hissed as he stood. Nellie dragged him back down again.

"Already am…" Ian whispered, barely audible to anyone but his sister, Natalie.

* * *

**IAN'S POV. (A/N: That's right, I'm doin' POV's now…)**

"Randolph, if you do not find at least a single parking space in this forsaken neighborhood in less than three minutes, I swear I will sue you!" Ian Kabra said through the glass window that was between him and his driver in the front seat.

Randolph gulped and tried to find a parking space quickly. Ian sat back down in his seat and slouched forward, putting his head in his hands. Natalie looked over at him, sighing she straightened his posture. "Ian, brother, please do not slouch. It will ruin

your suit." She told him. Ian sighed and looked at his watch. It was almost one o' clock. They were late. _Very _late in Ian's perspective. Natalie rolled her eyes as she watched her brother look at his watch for the umpteenth time today. "Would you just

relax Ian? It's always good to be fashionably late anyways…" Natalie declared to her flustered brother. Ever since they got that reunion invitation in the mail he's been flipping. Shopping for the right clothes to wear, getting a new haircut and even

comparing different shades of _black_ for his suit_. _Ian had been excited and worried at the same time. Ever since the demise of their parents Ian and Natalie have been struggling. The worse part of it all is that the Lucians have decided to leave Natalie and

Ian in the care of two…._Lovely _women. Both whom Natalie despises.

Nataliya Ruslanova Radova, NRR for short and Alana Flores, psychopath for short.

Both of them were left to care for Ian and Natalie, even if those two children were more dangerous and fearing than the Nazi's they still needed parental supervision no matter what. And with great luck (note the sarcasm) they were able to get the only

two people available and qualified for a job like that. Natalie found NRR alright, she wasn't too bossy or too loving either, she was only there for them when needed and accompanied Natalie on her shopping trips. It was just her wardrobe that irked

Natalie. Her excessive use of jackets and her wrinkles were…Ughh…Natalie tried to compose herself around her. She didn't, after all, want to disrespect her. She was actually a very….respectful person. After all the times NRR has stood her ground in front

of the Kabra siblings and the frightful Alana Flores, and not to mention she used to be the old Lucian branch leader. Whenever she was with her, Natalie felt a sense of calm. Unlike with her mother, always feeling that sense of discomfort and…fear. Alana

Flores on the other hand was….Nonetheless a very good…uhm….training partner. Ian sparred with her sometimes in fencing and polo and surprisingly every time, Ian lost. He felt so degraded after but he always managed to get back up and fight her

again with her nonstop taunts and mocks. The Lucian branch were expecting so much from Ian and Natalie, they even expected them to be the next branch leaders, but for now they were still too young and they chose NRR to substitute until then. Of

course NRR was perfect for the job. After all, she has plenty of experience. Its just sad knowing she has hemophilia.

Natalie heard Ian sigh in relief as they had finally parked the limo somewhere. Even though it was quite far from the entrance at least they found a parking space. Natalie got out of the car first and looked at her watch. "1:05, look at that Ian. At least

we're here aren't we?" Natalie said to him. Ian was too busy fixing himself in the side view mirrors of the limo. "Ian! Do you want to be late or not?' Natalie shouted to him. Ian composed himself and quickly paced himself over to the garden. "Right then,

hurry on. Let's go, chop-chop." He babbled on. Natalie wanted to hit him with her dart gun; she brought one of course, even if the invitation said not to. She knew that ever other Cahill in this reunion most probably brought one of their own. She then

remembered NRR hiding a pistol under her skirt in a holder tied around her thigh. She was disgusted by the thought but then again, drastic times call for drastic measures. She also remembered Alana carrying around a brand new set of poisonous

needles hidden in her nails then she told Natalie and Ian they would see them at the party since Ian and Natalie were still busy dressing up and getting ready. NRR and Alana took the liberty of setting their alarm clocks earlier than theirs. _Wonder why?_

Natalie thought then followed Ian to the garden.

Ian looked around, he saw so many Cahill's that he despised. He spotted a bunch of Lucians at a certain section of the garden. He gulped as he saw Alana Flores and NRR situated at the far end, but looking at him intently while they were conversing

with some other Lucians. He also spotted Gordon Klose chatting with Alana. He looked as messy and dumb as ever. Ian then shifted his gaze to other sections of the garden. Then he spotted her…

She was beautiful. She was wearing a yellow sundress with an orange ribbon around her waist; she wore matching yellow pumps on her feet and was looking around the crowd of Cahill's in the party. I found myself walking forward. My feet were moving

on their own, leading me toward her. I felt my heart thumping and my hands shaking. _These…emotions….are so…..FLO…..! _Ian screamed in his mind. Of course, Ian had no idea what to classify these emotions as and whenever he thought about what they

could truly be he was…scared. Not only for himself but _her. _He knew what that emotion could do to people. Make them change, make them do stupid things and get incredibly scarred in the end. An emotion worse than any other…Lo-

Ian now stood behind her. Just a few feet away. He inhaled and exhaled calmly. He decided to put on his "cool" façade and say something "charming". Of course Ian was at the brink of stuttering, he _had _to keep his cool. Otherwise….

He glanced toward the other Lucians who were looking at him now. Alana was glaring at him, her eyes reminding him not to do anything stupid…NRR was, nonetheless, calm. This made Ian completely not.

He looked at Amy again. Her back was still facing him; he saw how her eyes traced every single face of the Cahill's in the garden. Then her gaze landed on Sophie Watson, a Janus dancer. Ian gulped and opened his mouth.

"You look as beautiful as the last time I saw you, love."

_Perfect! Kept your cool, said something charming…Good…. _Ian thought in joy.

He watched as Amy flinched at his words. She slowly turned around. He observed how she shook and how her hands were sweaty and shaken as well. He felt a pang inside of him. Was she…afraid of him? His question was then answered as Amy finally

fully turned toward him. He saw her eyes widen with surprise and…Fear. Ian felt his heart drop at this sight. After all that he's done to her he wouldn't blame her if she still hated him or feared him. But Ian still kept his façade on, keeping his cool and his

face just as calm. But he had forgotten that his eyes were the windows to his soul. Amy had noticed the sadness in his eyes. He saw how her expression changed and suddenly turn into one of happiness. His heart skipped a beat at her smile. Her

genuine, angelic smile.

"Ian! It's so good to see you again!" she had exclaimed before pulling him into a warm hug. This made Ian flinch, a sudden feeling of fear enveloped him as he glanced over at The Lucians at the table. He saw how Alana's eyes widened and NRR's face

was…smiling! Smiling mockingly. Ian glared at them until he glanced at the other Lucians, he spotted one Lucian in particular.

Andras Gergley.

He was just as psychotic as Alana except more power hungry. He had always watched over Ian, making sure that nothing got in his way to be powerful and to conquer other branches of the Cahill family. He wanted to make sure no distractions came

with Ian's rule of branch leader. Ian watched as Andras' face scrunched up in anger. Amy was a distraction…

_No! _Ian thought.

Then he felt Amy let go of him. He was still in a daze but soon snapped back to reality as he saw Amy's face smile brightly toward him. He smiled back wearily and fixed his tie.

"Aah….Yes, it had been a while. How are you doing?" he said, happy he had made such a good reply without any falter in his voice.

"I'm doing fine. These past few weeks have been nothing but normalcy for me and Dan." Amy had replied in a sweet tone. Ian nodded and cleared his throat. He then spotted a small bead of sweat trickling down from Amy's face. She must be putting up

a façade too. Ian smiled sadly and was then directed to a seat by her. He sat down pleasantly and was then greeted by some of his cousins. Then he heard one of the Holts say something along the lines of 'sissy' but he quietly ignored that. Jonah gave

him a fist bump and Dan gave him the cold shoulder. _How wonderful! To be ignored by a species such as Dan is such a great honor! _Ian thought sarcastically. He then heard a quiet thump of a head; he turned around and saw Natalie hold up her silk glove to

Amy's head. _Oh…Natalie. Almost forgot her… _he thought, feeling a sudden twist of guilt in his stomach. Amy head mouthed a few words to his sister but they were barely audible to where Ian was sitting but he did see Natalie turn away in a 'huff' and walk

over to him. She sat herself beside him at the table and held her chin up high. Ian sighed and swiftly kicked his sister in the shin. She merely jumped and afterward glared at him. Ian scoffed and looked away. That ought to send her some message. He

thought it did for Natalie had turned her head away from him in defeat. Ian smirked then saw Amy walk over, she sat beside him and she seemed to hold the same look of guilt as he did a while ago. Amy opened her mouth and was about to usher

something when suddenly Mr. McIntyre walked over, panting and sweating. He looked as if he was just chased by a bull. Then he spotted Fiske coming over, also panting and sweating yet his suit and tie were quite neat.

"Mr. McIntyre? Are…You two okay?" Amy had asked McIntyre. He seemed to just brush it off and told her he was just fine. Then Fiske said something about his tie and then they were talking about something else Ian didn't really want to listen to until he

heard something from McIntyre about Amy.

"…Not _everyone _in the Cahill family knows about the little 'truce' you all plan to set up for them. This is why you will all tell them in your speech!" Fiske had just announced.

Ian's eyes widened at this. Amy? Speech? Really? He never even thought Amy had the capability to even talk in front of crowds. He looked toward Amy as everyone else did.

"Amy? You will announce a speech?" he asked her. Amy had nodded timidly and then held out a piece of folded paper. "My speech." She said. Ian smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder

"Then good luck! I'm sure you'll do great!" he said to her. Then he heard Dan scoff in his seat.

"Aww, how friggin' charming." he exclaimed in disgust. Ian twitched and glared at Dan. "Daniel, it's so good to see you again." Ian seethed. Natalie gave him a nod of acknowledgment, she seemed to be too tire to speak to anyone, really.

"How many friggin' times do I have to tell you Ian? It's **Dan. D** to the **A** to the friggin' **N**!" he had said. Ian smirked. "Riiight…" Ian said and lay back on his chair.

"Curse you Ian Kabra!" Daniel had hissed as he stood. Nellie dragged him back down again.

"Already am…" Ian whispered, barely audible to anyone but his sister, Natalie. He glanced at the Lucian's at the table and saw Alana stop glaring at him. She was now too preoccupied at what was on stage. I looked over to my right where the stage was

and saw Amy there at the podium. She was all shaky and sweating a bit. She looked at everyone in the crowd with wide eyes and her eyes stopped to one person in the crowd. Unconsciously, I turned around to where she was looking and spotted her

staring at NRR. _But Why? _He asked himself then he turned his attention back to Amy who was just about to begin.

(AMY'S POV)

She adjusted the mike a few times, hoping to stall and compose herself. She looked at the crowd once more. They were all staring at her…

Amy shook her head to clear any negative thoughts. _No! You can do this! You can do this… _she cheered in her mind. As she was looking through the crowd of people her eyes suddenly stopped at one person in particular. _Nataliya? _Amy saw her in the

crowd. It was NRR, the Lucian female who had helped them in their little adventure to Russia. She had been such a great help and she was so kind to them. Amy smiled wearily and NRR smiled back calmly. She, unnoticed by anyone, winked at Amy and

gave her an encouraging look. Amy gulped. She took the mike in her hands and breathed in a sigh. _Thanks NRR…_ Amy thought calmly then opened her mouth to speak…

"Let me just start off with one phrase…" Amy began.

Dan gulped. His ears perked up, hopeful to what his sister had to say. He felt Nellie stiffen beside him.

Amy breathed in and held on to the mike tightly. She let out four feeble words:

"You are all stupid."

Dan felt a blow through his stomach, like he was just punched in the gut by Hamilton or Eisenhower. His breath escaped him and his mind went a whirl. He felt Nellie straighten and give a gasp. He heard everyone in the garden give a gasp. He looked

over to Mr. McIntyre and Fiske. They held the same expression as everyone else, except every other Cahill had anger hidden in their eyes. He saw one burly man, around Eisenhower's age stand up from the Janus section. He hissed in German. _Thank_

_ goodness Amy can't understand the German language.._. Dan thought, but then he heard Nellie growl next to him. _Right….But Nellie can…_

Then some woman pulled the German man back into his seat. Dan sighed in relief then focused his attention back to Amy. Her face was impassive and her posture strong. She didn't dare let anything get to her, not even some German jerk. She continued

on with her speech no matter how many people began hissing.

"Don't argue because you all know its true… As I went through the clue hunt I saw just how sick and wicked this family could be. What they would do just to get the clues…What they would do so others couldn't…" Amy eyed some of her fellow clue

hunters at the table. Jonah, Alistair, The Holts and Ian made no eye contact.

"As all of you may know, me and my brother Dan had two loving parents. Hope and Arthur Cahill…They loved us and cared for us as much as Grace did. But in the end, they died because of the Clue Hunt…..Now that I look back; I remember when we first

received the invitation to go to Grace's will reading. When we had to choose between a million dollars or a clue. It wasn't really a hard choice. Of course, when you look at us, poor orphans with no real home or family, you would immediately think that we

would just drop everything else and take the million with no second thought. But as surprising as everyone else saw it to be, maybe to others not, we chose the clue. I find it surprising myself actually. But now I wonder what could have happened if we

never accepted the clue in the first place? Actually, even if we didn't accept the clue I'm sure the clue hunt would find us eventually. It goes to show just how fated we are to be in the clue hunt. To be part of something big even if we weren't even that

important, even if we were just some orphan kids with no parents, no money, no fame and no resources. We made through it all because we had one thing all the other clue hunters didn't…" Amy paused for a while. She saw how every other Cahill in the

garden had such a bored face, not even bothering to listen to the speech besides Mr. McIntyre, Fiske, NRR, Dan, Nellie and everyone at Amy's table. She inhaled and sighed. She wasn't going to let this get her down.

"Grace." A simple word. One simple name that let all other Cahill's gasp, retort and shout in horror. Even Dan and the others were gasping and looking at each other in surprise.

"And no, Grace is not alive. She's still dead of course. But what I'm trying to say is that….Grace wasn't just the Madrigal branch leader nor was she just an amazing clue hunter, she was my grandmother…And before Grace died, before she grew even

more ill and began to stop seeing us she told me a few simple words of wisdom that I remember to this very day…" Amy paused. She remembered it well, the last day with her and Grace. The last she and Dan ever saw her. They were in this very garden,

having a chat under one of her big apple trees. Dan was in the house playing with Saladin and me and Grace were planting some tulips. She remembered Grace looking sort of sad, her eyes were droopy and she looked so tired. She looked at me with

sad eyes but a smile on her face. "Amy, even if I am gone, I want you to remember me always. Remember you and Dan are never alone because if you were truly alone then death will come upon you quicker than a winter breeze…" Amy said aloud.

Amy smiled at the memory. She looked at all the Cahill's in the garden. They looked bored. Again. Sighed for probably the umpteenth time today.

"This is stupid, I don't even know how those two children won the hunt…" a voice said through the crowd.

"Je souscris!"(I agree!) a French man exclaimed. "C'est rien d'autre que la poubelle parlée par une petite fille!"(This is nothing but trash spoken by a little girl!)

"Kann ich home jetzt gehen?" (Can I go home now?) the same German man exclaimed a while ago.

"This is ridiculous!"

"Terrible!"

"I should have never come here!"

"Pathetic!"

"Where's the food!" Eisenhower shouted.

Amy held the microphone tighter causing a loud screeching noise to emit from the speakers making everyone pause.

"Everyone…Shut up." Amy hissed. Everyone did stop and stare at Amy and then began settling down.

"Shall I continue? Yes? Good…" Amy sighed.

"You all hate each other, I get that. But right now could you all just set aside your anger, hate and ignorance so you can listen to each other? For once? I know you all have a story to tell, like me and Dan, I know you all have been suffering. I know you

all had to do something, to give up something just to get to where you are now. I know one thing that the Cahill family has all in common…We all feel this pain, we all have this story in our lives we want to tell or we want to hide. We are all hurt.

But that doesn't mean we have to hurt each other. Look at each other not as enemies but for once look at each other like…Like family!"

The whole garden quieted down. No one dare move, no one dare speak. For they all knew that what she said was true and that they couldn't escape the truth. Dan smiled, _Go Amy! _he cheered.

"Let's all take some time to think about a fellow Cahill who had died during the clue hunt. Not only a Cahill but a Lucian—" Amy glanced at the Lucian's. They're faces were as impassive as ever and Amy felt a tinge of anger at that.

"—Irina Spasky. She was a dedicated clue hunter, a famous agent, and a loving mother. She had a story to tell, I'm sure it must've been a painful story and I'm sure most of you know about it. At first I didn't but then one day Fiske sat down with me in

front of the warm fire place one cold night and told me all about it. He told me how Irina had fallen in love with a man, a past Lucian leader actually…Nikilovana Spasky. Irina's husband…and the father to her son, Nikolai Spasky." Amy felt some tears begin

to well up in her eyes; she quickly composed herself and held them in. She saw Dan flinch in her peripheral vision. Dan had no idea about Irina's past; after Fiske had told her about it she decided to keep it to herself. _Hope Dan doesn't hate me again… _She

pondered for a while and continued.

"Irina loved her son very much, but she also had her loyalty to the Lucians. So she had to choose….Her son or the Lucians. Eventually she went away on a mission that was assigned to her by the Lucians. She came back only to find that her son had died

of an illness. She was heartbroken and she never managed to heal after that. That's what made her as she was. Cold and as stiff as steel. She loved her son only to have him taken away. And she still blames herself. So to any of you who even bothered

to listen to what I just said…I hope you would understand just how much pain Irina felt and maybe you've felt the same pain too…Maybe even greater. …" Amy said. Then she leaned onto the mike and whispered something, it was either to herself or to

the others but she made it barely audible but everyone was able ti interpret what she said.

"Blood is thicker than rich water."

And with that Amy stepped back from the podium and stared at everyone in the crowd. They seemed to be slightly confused by what Amy said. Then Amy sighed and decided to just leave the stage…

Then she heard all the Cahill's gasp simultaneously. She heard them shout and some even stand up from their chairs. Amy had no idea why but then it came to her…The smell, the feeling and the sounds came swirling in her head all at once.

She had just been shot on the shoulder with a bullet right in front of everyone.

* * *

Oh thank goodness I'm done. I know the speech might have sucked but it actually has a lot of meaning in it…I guess…Anyway, thanks for all of you readers out there who are reading this and liking it. I hope you like this chapter. Sorry if it sucks. Bye~! See you in the next chapter.

Now…A little suspense question:

**WHO SHOT AMY? WAS IT ONE OF THE CAHILL'S? WAS IT ANDRAS GERGLEY? WAS IT A VESPER? OR WAS IT ME?**


	9. Chapter 9: Party Crashers

Hello everyone. I know it's been a while. Now I know how those other authors feel like….Before I thought they weren't finishing their stories or not updating fast because they were lazy or didn't want to continue but now I see the truth….I'm lazy…and busy! Of course, others authors are probably not like that but ya know….I am. So here's the 9th chapter of 'A Fight with the Vespers' series! *coughs*…Here ya go.

* * *

Chapter 9: Party Crashers

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for OC's.**

Just as the sound of a bullet shot was made all Cahill's, with the exception of Dan, Mr. McIntyre and Fiske, all took out their knives and firearms, aiming them at hell knows where. Mr. McIntyre could feel a pang of irony in his stomach as he watched pretty much every Cahill in the room disobey his invitation instructions.

"AMY!" Dan yelled through the ruckus erupted by the alarmed Cahill's around him. He pushed, shoved and elbowed his way through the frantic crowd just to get to his injured sister. He could feel the others following him, their tension just as high as his.

But he didn't care about them right now; all he wanted to do was get to his sister before she loses anymore blood. He finally got to the stage where his sister lay now with a bleeding shoulder. By the looks of it she seemed to have already lost a certain amount of blood. Her clothes were soggy with red liquid and her eyes were distant, it seemed as if she was trying to find the strength to keep them open. Dan's breathing started to go heavy, he was panicking too soon. His sister was alright, she wasn't dead. She will be though if they don't get her to a hospital quick. He saw Uncle Alistair get close to Amy's head and lift up her shoulder to examine it more closely and then he gently pressed his hand against her bleeding injury to apply pressure. "We need to bring her to a hospital…fast." Alistair breathed. Thank you Sherlock.

Dan could see Mr. McIntyre and Fiske by the stage in his peripheral vision. They were just about to climb up to go to them until a sudden shake of the earth stopped everything. A loud boom resounded from across the stage and smoke erupted from almost everywhere. Dan coughed and held his sister tight. The smoke slowly dispersed to reveal two burly looking figures. One taller than the other and one that seemed more muscular than the other. Then Dan saw it. He glanced to the side of the stage where he spotted the glitter of something from afar. Upon a tall tree across the garden there appeared to be, from what Dan could guess….

'_A sniper rifle?' _the thought crossed his mind but just as it did Dan could feel himself getting drowsy. He looked around to see that his other relatives were on the ground already unconscious.

'_Knock out Gas!'_

Dan desperately tried to fight his drowsiness as he held his sister tighter. The two burly men marched forward. Then, as Dan turned again to the side of the stage where he spotted the sniper, he saw a small cloaked figure under the tall tree. The cloaked figure seemed to be around Amy's height and had a feminine like figure. The figure held the sniper rifle in her hands and slowly walked toward the stage. Dan began to panic; he had no idea what to do. All he could do now was watch helplessly as the first muscular man got hold of Uncle Alistair and Nellie.

"Such a pity…And I thought you'd all be more of a challenge…" Dan heard a feminine voice chime before he completely succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

_What happened?_

The thought crossed an obviously disgruntled Amy. Her eyelids were so heavy that she couldn't find the strength to even lift them up. Her body felt heavy as well and she found that she couldn't even twitch her fingers. Then an acrid smell overcame her senses. A smell Amy knew all too well.

Then Amy felt it.

A stinging pain came upon her right shoulder. Then a silent hiss escaped her lips. The pain was unbearable and Amy couldn't do anything about it. Then she thought of her brother, Dan. Where was he? What was he doing now?

Why wasn't he helping her?

Amy's head spun with questions. Then her train of thought stopped as she heard the clicking of a gun.

Dan felt the ropes press against his skin even more as one of the burly men tightened it around his arms. Dan winced in pain. He looked around for a while and saw that all his fellow Cahill clue hunters;

Uncle Alistair, the Holts, Jonah, Nellie, The Starlings and Ian and Natalie Kabra were tied up against each other in a dark room. There were groups of 5 that were tied up together. Uncle Alistair was tied up with Nellie and Dan.

The Holts siblings were tied up together while their parents, Eisenhower and Mary-Todd, were tied up at the other side of the room. The Starling triplets were tied together and Ian, Natalie and Jonah were tied up in the corner of the room.

Dan blinked to clear his vision.

Everything was so dark; he could only make out the silhouettes of everyone. But what he could make sure of was the small silhouette of a girl in the corner of the room, lying back against the wall with a small pistol in her hand.

"Good morning sunshine!" she smiled. Dan flinched at her voice. It was so gleeful and sweet. Bittersweet that is. The girl walked over to Dan, pistol in hand, and leaned over to have her face close to his. "How was your sleep?" she asked, her voice

turning over a little venomous tone.

Dan wanted to spit at her right then and there but one thing suddenly stopped him. "A-Amy! Where's my sister! What have you done with her!" Dan shouted in panic. The girl backed away in phony surprise. "Oh my! Tsk! Tsk!" she made a gesture by

swinging her index finger from side to side. "You have no manners my dear Daniel! You could have just asked politely you know!" the girl twirled on her heel and went over to the side of the room where, from Dan's line of sight, was a door with small light

peeking from it. There, the girl turned on a light switch that appeared to be beside the door. Dan winced at the brightness.

The girl smiled and gestured over to the corner of the room. Dan followed her to see Amy, his sister, laying there against the corner of the wall. Dan's eyes widened and he leaned forward, hoping to reach his sister. "Amy! No!" Dan yelled. He turned to

glare at the girl but he suddenly met eyes with someone else. It turns out, when the lights had turned on, that the girl who shot Amy, the girl that kidnapped them all and brought them to hell knows where, the girl that brought his sister into an even

worse state, the girl who was standing before him, pistol in hand, was the same beautiful yet devilish girl he met in the hallways at school. "Y-You! You're….That….Girl…." Dan sputtered. The girl seemed to smile with hilarity at all of this. Her face lit up and

she walked over to Dan. "You know me? Aah, yes. I believe I saw you one afternoon at school. You were staring at me like I was some kind of celebrity, no?" she giggled with such ease that Dan almost thought there was nothing awful even going on.

Dan glared at her with such intense force, wishing to burn a hole through her head. The girl noticed this and smiled.

That made Dan even more infuriated. Then he suddenly heard a groan, various groans actually, and turned to see that Nellie and everyone else had already woken up. "W-Where….Where are we?" Natalie managed to squeak out. Ian straightened himself behind his sister and sighed. Ian glanced toward the girl and scowled. The girl smiled playfully and inched her face closer to his.

"Hey handsome, enjoyed your sleep?" she chimed. Ian felt sick in his stomach next to this girl. He was about to retort to her nonchalant flirting when he suddenly spotted an unconscious Amy in the corner of the room.

Ian's eyes widened and he furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced back at the girl in front of him. He spotted the pistol in her hands and pursed his lips. "You-All of you…Are Vespers, right? Not only that but you're the Vesper who…Shot Amy, correct?" Ian

growled through clenched teeth. The girl seemed baffled for a while until she suddenly smiled her usual joyful smile and stepped back. "Well yes actually! We are! And yes, I did shoot Amy. I hit her with a 7.62x51mm M40, United States Marine Corps

standard-issue sniper rifle! A real handy thing it is…" she stated while twirling around in exaggerated glee. Ian glared even harder at her.

This girl…This _Vesper_ shot Amy! And he wasn't going to allow that she get away with it.

Ian was about to reach into his pockets to get his Swiss army pocket knife when the girl had suddenly took her gun out and cocked the chamber. The 'click' of the gun resounded in the room, causing some people to flinch, even Ian. And from Dan's assessment…

Even Amy.

* * *

Dan stayed silent as he watched his sister's eyes suddenly flutter open. He stayed silent as he watched her try to bring her body upright and wince at the sudden pain in her shoulder. He stayed silent as she widened her eyes in typical horror and bafflement at what was happening before her. He felt his breath hitch in his throat. Why couldn't he say anything you ask? Well, if he were to say anything concerning his sister's consciousness in front of these demons then there was a sure effect that Amy would be even _more _wounded. Maybe even…..

Dan shook his head. _No! _ He would not let his sister die here. He was going to save her life, no matter how much blood he had to donate.

The girl before him looked at them each, thank the heavens she decided not to even spare Amy a glance, with a malevolent smile on her face. "Now…I think you know why we're here, correct?" the girl inched toward Dan and held her pistol upright.

She smiled down at him and brought her gun to his forehead. Dan could hear Nellie gasp behind him and Uncle Alistair's body stiffen. Dan held a strong face, not wanting to show even a hint of fear. "Daniel Cahill," she inched the gun closer to his head.

"Where are the clues?" she demanded. Dan stayed silent. The girl smirked at this, obviously knowing his reaction would be just that. She then brought the gun closer to his head that the force of it made Dan's head reel back a little.

"Daniel, Daniel,Daniel. I have no time for your refreshing wit and bravery. Tell me where the clues are. Now."

She glared at him, her gun pushing him a little more backward. Dan gulped, even though the position he was in now was giving him a hard time to swallow, and he slowly opened his mouth to say something.

"Bite me." He snapped. The girl flinched at this and gave him her ever infamous smile. She took the gun away from his head and brought it safely in front of her chest.

She was about to reply angrily when a sudden weak voice broke everyone's concentration.

"Angela?"

* * *

Dan watched in horror as this 'Angela' turned around to meet Amy's gaze.

Amy's eyes were wide but seemed to be too tired from lack of blood. Angela smiled wickedly at her and, without a second thought, brought the gun to her direction and turned her head back to Dan.

Dan's eyes widened. He knew just what Angela was planning and his heart raced at the thought. Amy lifted herself up with a groan and tried to place pressure upon her bleeding shoulder by forcing down her hand against it. "Now, Daniel. You have a

choice. Tell me what the clues are or else….Your sister gets it." Angela warned. Dan felt his body tremble in fear. What was he going to do? Give her the clues or save his sister? Though the answer was already evident right before his eyes.

He saw Angela's expression's change from happy to irritate and from irritate to anticipation and from anticipation to impatience. Dan saw her finger, which was on the trigger, twitch slightly.

Dan flinched and leaned forward to some extent. But then, before anyone could make a move, a sound or even blink, Angela had already pulled the trigger and sent the bullet flying toward Amy once more.

* * *

"AMY!" Dan yelled at the top of his lungs. Dan closed his eyes immediately as the sound of the bullet shot was made. After a few seconds of silence Dan slowly opened his eyes and soon widened them remarkably at the sight of…Not a dead Amy but a colorless Amy.

Amy's face was as pale as a ghost. It looked as if she had already lost heaps of blood.

Amy slowly turned her face to the side where there was a small concrete hole inches from her head where Angela had shot. Amy turned her attention back to Angela who was blowing imaginary smoke off the nozzle of her gun. "Y-You…." Amy stammered.

Angela smirked and turned on her heel to face Dan. "That was just a warning. Next one will be for real." She exclaimed with a dangerous tone at the end.

Dan looked from Angela to Amy. His face growing paler and paler. The clues were important, if he gave them to these guys then what would happen to the world? But if he didn't…..

Dan looked at his sister once more. Her pale face, her tired eyes….They needed to end this. Now.

"If I tell you, will you let us all go?" Everyone turned their heads to Dan with a stunned look. Angela's smile widened and she slowly brought down her gun from Amy's direction. "Of course! I promise." Angela stated, sticking up her pinky for emphasis.

Dan nodded his head once and looked to his sister. Amy stared hard at him with an anxious expression.

She shook her head slightly; telling him to not give her anything but Dan ignored it and turned his head back to Angela. Dan closed his eyes and sighed.

"Iron Solute…" Dan shakily breathed. Angela gestured to the burly man behind her and he immediately nodded, taking a pen and paper out to write down the first clue. Dan hesitated for a moment but he decided to go on.

"G-Gold…" The burly man wrote down once more. Dan's whole body shook. Would he continue? He had no choice. His sister's life was at stake. Angela knew that even if she choked out all the clues from each and every one of the teams Dan was the only who knew how to mix the serum and he knew all the clues too so that would save her some time. They needed Dan, so they could easily scrap the others.

"A-" Dan began but he stopped short as the words hitched in his throat. Angela gripped her gun and glared at him intensely, cautioning him. Dan glanced at the others, trying to see if they could give him at least a look that said everything was going to be alright. But when he turned to look at their faces they were all….

Disappointed, Afraid, and most of all…..Hopeless.

The Kabra siblings were mostly disappointed. After all that's happened, after all the hard work they put into everything it all ends up wasted and given up to a bunch of sick twisted fiends who didn't even lift a finger. Alistair was, nonetheless,

disappointed as well but when Dan looked for a second time he saw that Alistair's face was really understanding and also worried for Amy's sake. Dan smiled to him but then when his eyes landed on the Starlings…Well…..That was another story…

Sinead's eyes glared at him like laser beams and her hands formed fists by her sides. Dan gulped and felt like backing away, unfortunately the only place to "back away" to was Nellie's sweaty backside. Ew.

Ned nudged his sister, Sinead, and she quickly composed herself once more but not before a quick huff of her cheeks. Dan felt Angela's patience grow thin so he quickly turned back to her but not before catching a glimpse of the Holt's parents who were holding each other's hands.

Dan could see them fidget their fingers. He smiled wearily. This situation even made Eisenhower and Mary-Todd Holt go nervous. Then Dan heard the click of a gun again. He quickly whipped his head back to Angela who was perceptibly holding the gun toward Natalie's face this time. "You were saying Daniel?" Angela threatened. Ian gasped and held Natalie's hand tight behind the ropes.

He was still trying to reach for his Swiss army knife but it just seemed to be out of his reach.

"Okay, okay! Just…Uhm….Relax…" Dan persuaded. Angela still held the guns position, awaiting Dan's next words. Dan inhaled and exhaled with a deep sigh. Amy still gazed at him fearfully, her lips trying to move to make at least one syllable come out. But it was no use. She was getting light headed and was soon most likely about to die. Dan feared this more than he feared what the Vespers would do with the clues so Dan straightened himself, and with a brave face stated the next clue.

"Al-" and then, before he could even utter the last two letters, Eisenhower and Mary-Todd had tackled Angela to the ground.

* * *

Dan blinked. _What just happened?_

He watched as Mary-Todd binded an unconscious Angela's arms behind her back with the rope used to tie them up with and Eisenhower incapacitate her two muscular henchmen. Dan felt a sudden feeling of relief swarm all over his body. Then he felt the

ropes tied around him loosen and then fall to the ground. Dan turned around to see Ian, untied and holding a Swiss army knife in his hands. Ian looked at Dan with his smug smirk. "I always bring one with me." He stated.

Dan rolled his eyes and proceeded to run over to Amy. Alistair walked over to Mary-Todd and Eisenhower Holt, who were crowded around by their kids who were hollering about how "cool" their parents were, and gave them each a pat on the back.

"Bravo dear Holts! How did you do it?" Alistair asked. "Easy! Me and my sugar cakes right here just communicated using Morse code by tapping each other's hands and we both planned that while that Angela girl is too busy listening to Dan and her

henchmen were busy writing down the clues we would carefully loosen the ropes using an old trick I learned at boy scout camp and swiftly charge at Angela and her henchmen! Pretty cool, huh?" Eisenhower boasted, his chest puffed out with his arms by

his sides. Alistair laughed hesitantly beside them and then remembered one more important thing. _Amy!_

Dan bent down to be at eye level with his sister and slowly lifted her head which was leaning against the wall limply. Soon, Alistair and Nellie came into the scene. Alistair hastily pressed his thumb against her wrist.

"She still has a pulse…..But it's slow…" those words made Dan's pulse go three times as fast. Nellie tried waking Amy up but to no avail; all she could get from her was a silent groan or grumble.

Dan quickly stood up and ran over to the door, their only exit. He tried to twist the handle but it was, obviously, locked. Dan hammered away onto the door, hoping someone could hear him. His heart rate was beating at an intense speed.

Beads of sweat fell from his face and dripped down to his chin. He continued to bang the door repeatedly until someone had tapped him on the shoulder. Dan turned around fiercely, anger and frustration evident in his eyes.

Ian was there, just standing. He instructed Dan to step aside and Dan obliged, quite grudgingly might I add. Ian reached into his pockets and took out what seemed to be, by Dan's limited knowledge of firearms, an XD-9, HS Product.

Ian held the gun firmly in his hand and quickly blasted the doorknob right off the door. Where the knob used to be was now a big gaping hole, Ian smoothly slid his hand into the hole and pulled the door open.

He and Dan peeked through it, hoping to be in Grace's mansion or somewhere near her garden. But what they saw instead was a vast land of trees.

They were in an unfamiliar forest in the middle of nowhere.

Then they slowly turned to Amy. Dan's eyes widened.

She was so pale.

* * *

Hiya…I know….Boring chapter. But it was my sem break and It ends tomorrow so I had to hurry it up. I started doing the chapter 3 weeks ago. A week after I was too lazy and too busy watching anime to finish it. The next week after I was also too lazy and busy and then some days after that week I decided to finish it. So...Yeah. I'd like to thank my computer and my beta reader who helped me with the story line. I'M SORRY I DIDN'T FOLLOW IT COMPLETELY! Oh well….Anyway…..Thanks for reading! :)

Time for a Suspense question!::: **WHERE ARE THEY? HOW WILL THEY EVER GET AMY TO THE HOSPITAL NOW? IS AMY GOING TO DIE? IS SHE ALREADY DEAD? OR WAS EVERYTHING JUST A DREAM? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! :)**

R&R please. O(^_^O) (O^_^O) (O^_^)O *does victory dance* (I got that from the book "THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE" by Pseudonymous Bosch. Raise your hand if you've read it! :D)


	10. Chapter 10: One Hot Doctor

Yo. So here's the new chapter. Hope you all like it and I know that maybe this question has been creeping at you from the very beginning of the story but….::

WHERE IS SALADIN!

Well, my dear readers, there are three explanations for that:

1.)Saladin has not appeared in the story yet because Saladin, of course, still lives with Amy and Dan in their old apartment but has made no further appearance yet because most of the time he has either been asleep, eating red snapper or

catching mice. So therefore there is not really much to write about Saladin here.

2.)I find the surprise factor efficient and exact for a character like Saladin. He seems to be the type to just pop out when you least expect it. So Saladin will appear in the story, just when you least expect it.

3.)I forgot. (ACTUAL REASON) :x

Enjoy the Story…

* * *

Disclaimer: I hereby declare that I, 39ninjas, do not own anything related to the 39 Clues and only validate my name upon created characters and the plot.

Chapter 10: One Hot Doctor…

"HAMILTON! Do you really think it's the right time to be peeing right now?" shouted an exasperated Dan a distance behind Hamilton's urination tree.

"Would you just chillax! Do you know how long I've been holding this? It'll only take a few seconds!" Hamilton snapped back at him, already going through the bodily process of discharging his waste matter behind the safety of his pine tree.

Dan huffed and just snapped his head to the right, stomping toward some other direction.

"Dan, you really shouldn't be going wherever you like. You could get lost and that would be a really big problem for all of us. Especially Amy…" Nellie pointed out, turning her head to glance at Amy who was being carried on the back by Eisenhower.

Dan turned to Nellie, his face red with anger. "Oh! So _I'm _the one who's causing a problem for all of us! Then what about Hamilton! Isn't he just wasting our time PISSING instead of trying to help finding a way out of this forest and bringing Amy to the hospital!" Dan barked at Nellie who took a step back.

Eisenhower stepped forward with Amy daintily on his back, causing Eisenhower to crouch forward a little. "Hey! Don't you dare talk about my son that way! He's doing his best to help Amy! You should just know that when a man's gotta go, he's GOTTA GO!"

Dan glared back at Eisenhower. "And you should know that when a life is at stake, IT COMES FIRST!"

Alistair put a reassuring hand on Dan's back. "Don't worry Dan, everything will be okay. We already bandaged up Amy so the bleeding has stopped. When we bring her to the hospital they will take care of the rest…." Alistair assured him. Dan didn't look at him and just shook his hand off. "But there's still that bullet in her shoulder…and—and the bacteria! The bacteria could kill her!" Dan exclaimed, his blood pressure going a little higher. "Dan, just relax. Your panicking will not help Amy…." Alistair said.

Dan gritted his teeth and snapped his head to where Hamilton was. He then began trudging toward Hamilton who was, astoundingly, _still _taking a pee and abruptly took him by the back of his collar and swung him out of the safety of his tree and then pushed him forward, back to everyone else. Everybody yelped, including Hamilton. He quickly zippered up his pants, with a shaky squeal which made Eisenhower arch an eyebrow, and blushed 5 different shades of red.

"I think you're done Hamilton! Now let's go!" Dan yelled and quickly stomped to the front of the group. Hamilton grew redder with rage and began yelling back at Dan.

"DAN! I WAS _ALMOST _DONE BUT THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU PULLED ME FROM BEHIND AND TOOK ME OUT OF MY PRIVACY! YOU'RE LUCKY I WAS ALREADY PULLING UP MY ZIPPER!"

"And you're also lucky he wears boxers…" Natalie intervened.

Sinead chuckled. "Nice teddy bears by the way Ham."

Hamilton felt the heat coming back to his face and quickly snapped his head to the side where no one could see it, especially his dad who was already starting to question his son's manly hood.

* * *

20 minutes passed and they were still walking aimlessly around the forest. The only way to satisfy their boredom was having a conversation with one another, though it wasn't what you would really call a "conversation". The "conversation" went like this:

"Hey, I think I've seen that tree before. Do you think we may be walking around in circles?" said Nellie.

"How do you know it's the same tree? All the trees look the same in this forest!" Natalie retorted.

"Are you sure what you saw were teddy bears? Maybe you mean _grizzly bears, _because there is no way on earth I would wear teddy bear boxers!" asked a weary Hamilton.

"With a pink background? Yes. I'm sure Hamilton." Sinead said, a smile creeping up her face.

"Son, when we get home we're going to have a little talk…." Eisenhower declared.

"What! Dad, no!" Hamilton shouted in defense. Natalie and Sinead snickered.

"Daniel, do you think that kids your age would like to eat microwavable tofu burritos?" Alistair asked.

"Ew. I know I wouldn't." Madison blanched.

"My suit is officially ruined. Look at this crease on my tie!" Ian exclaimed.

"NRR will have to iron it when we get home." Natalie said, calmly.

"Yo. Why haven't I appeared much in this story?" Jonah complained.

"Have you ever thought of making microwavable cat burritos?" Reagan joked.

"Uhm, I do not think that would be very….Edible." Alistair replied, wearily.

"Yes it would! And I say we let Saladin be our first dish!" Madison said humorously.

**(A/N: SALADIN APPEARS. SORTA.)**

"Not funny girls. Not funny." Nellie said. Madison and Regan continued to chuckle.

"How about microwavable red snapper burritos?" Ned suggested.

"Hmm…Now, that's a good ide-" Alistair began.

"EVERBODY, SHHHH!" Dan shouted.

Everyone immediately stopped their chatter and looked at Dan.

"Do you hear that?" Dan asked. Everyone looked around and listened, trying to find what Dan was talking about.

"Hear what?" Madison asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Wait. I hear it…It's—It's a…Helicopter?" Nellie said. Everyone looked up to see, indeed, a helicopter flying right above them. Dan was about to wave his hands around and try to get the helicopter's attention when suddenly the helicopter landed right in front of them, causing everyone's hair to blow in different directions and make them step back a little. The helicopter finally landed securely on the ground and the door quickly flew open to reveal Fiske and Mr. McIntyre, looking worried and relieved at the same time.

"Dan! Nellie!" Fiske called out to them. Dan smiled and quickly ran toward them and so did everyone else.

"Fiske! Mr. McIntyre! H-How did you find us?" Dan asked them. Nellie soon stepped beside Dan and asked the same question.

"Well, we found you guys using this tracking device…" Fiske explained, showing them a remote like device with a small screen on it and several buttons. The small screen showed a green blinking button on it.

"Oh…Cool…..Wait. Tracking device? Where?" Nellie asked, arching an eyebrow.

Fiske scratched the back of his head. "Aah, well….Uhm….We put it in Nellie, you see and-"

"IN ME!" Nellie exclaimed, looking around and feeling along her shirt, her back, her pants and her hair in a frantic motion. Mr. McIntyre scoffed momentarily.

"Now, now, Nellie. No need to panic." He said, bringing his hands up in a calming gesture.

"Then where is it! Where did you put the tracking device!" Nellie babbled on, franticly searching for the device.

"Uhm…**That** we will not say. But what's important now is that we need to bring Amy to the hospital! Get in the helicopter, quick!" Mr. McIntyre said, gesturing them all into the helicopter. They all climbed in and slowly laid Amy down. Fiske hovered over her and examined her wound.

"There's still some hope. But we need to hurry…." He said and gestured to the pilot who gave a nod and started the helicopter. Soon, they were off the ground and into the sky, looming over the large forest where, just a few minutes ago, they were trapped and lost in.

Dan examined the forest, trying to see if he recognized it. If it were close to Grace's mansion then he would have. But as he looked closer he couldn't identify a thing.

Wait a minute …..…Nope, not a thing.

* * *

They had to wait for about two hours until any news came about Amy.

They had to sit on hard and uncomfortable benches for two hours.

Natalie was not pleased.

She watched as Dan sat down on the bench. He sighed and dug his face into his hands in a depressed state. It was either he was tired because of all the blood he donated to save his sister's life or he was just really worried. Obviously, Natalie knew which one was which.

Natalie felt a pang of sympathy within her. She felt the same that one time when Ian was having his polo practice and his horse went too fast and tripped, causing Ian's right shoulder to dislocate and his pelvic bone to fracture. It took about 5 weeks for him to get discharged from the hospital. 5 weeks of worry and worse case scenarios for Natalie. But not even a twitch of the lip from her mother. Isabel just sighed and shook her head.

"_Not to worry Natalie. This is your brother's own fault. He should have been skilled enough to evade that fall but I guess I was wrong. I will have to train him more often….He's gotten soft…"_

_He's gotten soft._

Those were the cruel, cruel words her mother had said about Ian's hospitalization.

_He's gotten soft. _Mother had no idea; she had no idea to what extent Ian would do to be able to please her. To gain praise from her or at least an acknowledging nod. What kind of mother was she?

No. She wasn't even a mother from the start.

She had hurt, battered, bruised, teased and insulted Ian and Natalie and after all they'd done for her. They tried so hard. _Too _hard.

Natalie sighed and chose to sit down on the uncomfortable cushions of the waiting area bench. She glanced at Dan again and then looked over to the double doors of the emergency room.

_They made us realize just how foolish we were. That we didn't need mum to tell us what to do. We didn't need to hear her whining and crazy exclamations of how the world would be if it were ruled by the Lucian's—Oops, I mean HER._

Natalie then brought her eyes over to her brother who was sitting down a on the waiting bench a distance from her. His face was scrunched up in concentration and he was fiddling with his _creased _necktie. Natalie smiled at the thought of her brother having a crush on a girl. She knew the day would come of course but she never thought the girl would be…_Amy Cahill._

She wasn't even Lucian material. She stuttered and blushed too much and her wardrobe was just to die for. And I mean really to _die _for. Her hair was a mess and she lacked self confidence.

That is, until _after _the hunt.

She seemed to look more…Sure of herself. She was strong and definitely knew how to hate her brother in the most menacing way. The furious glare's from here to there were even more furious than Mother's when a brand new top that she's been looking out for just sold out the last one of her size. Though she knew Amy had the same feelings for her brother, she could see it at the reunion, there's still one thing that hasn't changed about her.

Her fear.

And her ghastly wardrobe but that's another story…

Natalie inched closer to her brother. She finally got close enough to him that they were already side by side, shoulder's brushing. Yet he had no sudden reaction or awareness that she was even there. Natalie glared at him for a while and inched even closer that she bumped right into his side causing him to flinch immediately. He looked to his side to see his sister there, her poker face staring at him.

"Oh. Natalie, it's just you. Do you need anything?" Ian asked her promptly, straightening his tie.

Natalie just stayed silent and placed a reassuring hand on her brother's.

And that was all that needed to be said.

* * *

Dan felt his body just fill with so much fatigue that he just wanted to collapse right then and there. And no, it wasn't because of all the blood he donated to for his sister's sake but because of so much physical and emotional stress that was put onto him that he looked as if he had just seen a ghost. A while ago a nurse had asked him if he was feeling well and if he needed any medicine or a checkup. He had said he was fine and was able to politely shoo her away. Besides, the only thing that could make him feel better now was the concrete news that his sister was going to be alright. That's all he needed, then after that he would be able to collapse on the floor with a smile on his face.

Wait. That didn't sound right.

Anyway….

Nellie had sat down beside him and placed a warm hand on his back. She just stayed silent and didn't dare say a thing and Dan was grateful for it. He could hear Alistair and the Starling's talking from the other side of the hallway.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Ned asked, concern etched in his voice.

"Of course she will. Amy is a strong character. Just like her mother." Alistair said, a weary smile on his face.

"Let's just hope so…" Sinead said. Ted was about to say something but decided to just close his mouth. But then he made up his mind and decided to go on.

"That girl. The one who kidnapped us. She said she was a Vesper, right?" Ted confirmed. Sinead gave a silent nod while Alistair just sighed.

The others were informed about the existence of the Vespers about a month ago, though Alistair had already heard about it long before but has never really believed in it. But now, now that he has seen one for himself, he can definitely confirm that it will take a lot more than sheer will power and a new line of microwavable burrito's to beat this family. If they're after the clues then the Cahill's would have to guard them with full strength. Not one of them must have their hands on the clues.

Alistair glanced at Dan who was sitting on the waiting bench, still depressed and worried. Alistair frowned.

They must not have their hands on Dan.

He was the key right now. He remembers how to make the serum and he even has all the clues with him. He was what the Vespers needed. Not them.

Alistair looked at The Starlings then at the Holts who were seated at a waiting bench nearby then at the Kabra's then at Jonah.

Jonah had finally found a working payphone in the hospital and decided to use it to call his dad and tell him he was alright. His father had been worried sick about him after the incident. Broderick had sat with the other Janus branch during the reunion and therefore wasn't able to see if his son was alright. Though Jonah was already pretty independent and able without his Blackberry addictive father. He had already gotten used managing his own schedules and texting by himself, he had finally gotten a phone, since he always told his father to do it for him. After the hunt though, his mother was not satisfied with the outcome. Like Isabel, Cora was as crazy for the clues and would do anything to get the serum but with a little persuading and convincing on Broderick's side and some anger management classes on Jonah's side they were able to make Cora accept the truth that Amy and Dan had won fair and square.

Alistair watched as Jonah talked gleefully with his father on the phone, laughing at something he must've said. Alistair smiled.

"Uncle Alistair? Why are you smiling?" Sinead asked.

"It's kind of creeping me out…" Ned said, inching away from him.

"Wow. Yeah. Me too." Ted deadpanned with sarcasm smothered all over his voice. He had expected a speedy recovery after his surgery but it turns out it'll probably take weeks or even months for him and Ned to heal.

Before, Ted was in pain, thinking up solutions to his pain, and blind.

And Now, Ted was tired, impatient and still blind…

At least his brother, Ned, was making some progress. His frequent headaches have minimized and now he gets them only once in a while. Though it still hurts, he can now think without having to be bothered with that stinging pain in his head. Sinead on the other hand was just fine. But the doctors say that her scars will probably be there forever. But Sinead was fine with that; she could always use foundation or scar cream anyway.

Alistair had been taking care of them for the time being and they had been taking care of him. No news about Bae Oh has come up but they were always ready.

The Holts have been, nonetheless, fine. They used the money that they got from the Clue Hunt to go to every baseball, soccer and wrestling match around the world. Hamilton joined the football team at his school and has been a great deadly weapon in their team, he was known as 'The Bulldozer' by his peers, Madison had joined the wrestling team and hasn't lost a match since and Reagan had joined both the computer club and the soccer club and has been doing good in both. Eisenhower and Mary-Todd on the other hand were just enjoying their lives as a rich and happy family. Though the Tomas were disappointed in them for losing the clue hunt to two mere children but Eisenhower had replied to them this:

"Well, those 'mere children' aren't 'mere' at all! They beat us fair and square and guess what? WE WON MONEY! And there's no way in hell are we sharing! BLEH! SO YOU COULD JUST GET YOUR FILTHY WORDS AND STICK THEM RIGHT UP MY ASS IVAN! HAHAHAHAHA!"

**(A/N: 'IVAN'. Ivan Kleister is the leader of the Tomas Branch and likes to compete with Eisenhower for the position of branch leader even though he already has the position.)**

Eisenhower has been joining recent competitions, though. He joined the skiing competition, the wrestling competition, the 50 kilometer run competition, the weight lifting competition, the body building competition, the bull fighting competition and even the hot dog eating competition. Mary-Todd joined several other competitions as well, and then she joined the kitting club for some reason. Peace of mind I guess?

Then everyone stopped what they were thinking as they heard the opening of the emergency room doors.

* * *

Dan immediately turned his head upright to stare at the doctor who had just gone out of the emergency room. The Kabra's stood up quickly and Jonah had said goodbye to his dad and walked over to where everyone was. Dan stood up and walked over to the doctor.

"Well? Is my sister okay? Is Amy alright?" Dan asked, franticly. The doctor smiled at him and looked over at the clipboard he was holding in his hand.

"No need to worry. You're sister is just fine. Though, she lost a lot of blood but thanks to your donation, we were able to save her just in time. It was a risky job to take the bullet out but we did it. Now, just let her rest." He said and he could just feel the tension in the air disappear as everyone in the hall gave a sigh of relief. Dan smiled up at the doctor and suddenly hugged him. The doctor was startled at first but then patted the boy on the back with a smile evident on his face as well. That was when Nellie noticed the Doctor's…Appearance.

He had smooth fair skin and a lean body. He was quite tall, taller than anyone in the whole room, Dan's head was only about the level of his waist, and he had a well framed face. His hair was cut short and blonde yet held a light hazel color as well. His eyes were a light brown and his body was muscled and well built. His lips were shaped nicely and held a natural light pink color and his teeth were lined well and perfectly white. Nellie felt herself go into a trance as the young doctor smiled at her. "You must be the boy's guardian. I'm Dr. Vladislav. Pleased to meet you." Dr. Vladislav shook hands with Nellie who had immediately snapped out of her trance the moment she heard the word 'Vladislav'.

"Uhm, Vladislav. That's Russian?" Nellie asked him, her eyes wide. Dr. Vladislav nodded and took his hand back. "Yes, I was born in Russia you see. I guess it's hard to distinguish since I have an American accent. I was born in Russia but raised in America."

Nellie nodded, finally understanding. "Oh. No wonder…" she smiled, going back into her trance. Dan stared at her and rolled his eyes. He turned abck to Dr. Vladislav and smiled up at him. "Thanks so much Doctor,uhm,…Vladee-sluv?" the words rolled out of his mouth in a jumble. Dr. Valdislav laughed and patted the boy's head. "Don't worry; all my clients have trouble pronouncing my name. Call me Dr. Vlad for short." He said. Dan nodded and turned to Nellie who was still in her ditsy little trance. He nudged her in the stomach which caused her to jump and snap back out of her trance. "Uhm…Th-Thank you Dr. Vlad for your help. I—We really appreciate it." Nellie said dreamily. Dan rolled his eyes once again.

"No problem. Though I must get going now. Bye-bye then." Dr. Vlad bid his farewells and soon left. Nellie felt her stomach do a flip as he waved goodbye. Though she felt disappointed that he was gone already.

Dan smiled and looked at everyone else who were also smiling at him.

"This is wonderful! Amy is going to be alright!" Alistair said.

"Yeah. My sister's going to be just fine." Dan repeated and looked down, the fatigue already overwhelming him. They heard another set of double doors, this time from the other end of the hall, open to reveal Fiske entering.

"How is she? Is everything okay?" Fiske asked worriedly. Alistair informed him of everything and he immediately sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness!" he breathed.

"Where's McIntyre?" Sinead asked as she looked around the halls for him.

"Aah, McIntyre went to go explain some things to the people who were left at the reunion. They were all pretty dazed after everything. I better call him and tell him about Amy…" Fiske said and took out his cell phone.

Alistair noticed Dan getting tired and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Are you alright, my boy?" Dan mumbled something barely audible for anyone to hear but before Alistair could ask him anything he had already fallen asleep in his arms. Alistair smiled down at him and turned to Nellie.

"Nellie, I think maybe you should bring Dan home now to rest." Alistair said as he gestured to Dan. But Nellie was just staring at where Dr. Vlad had left. "Nellie?" Alistair called out. Nellie turned around and looked over at Alistair.

"Okay, I know this may seem completely off topic but I just have to say, that was one hot doctor…"

* * *

Hey everyone. Thanks for reading. I know it may have seemed a little Crack-ish in the beginning but I just wanted some humor and yes, Hamilton seemed pretty OOC here with the pink teddy bear boxers and all but he couldn't find any other underwear and those boxers got turned pink because of a little mix up with the local dry cleaning store so... It was either he borrow his dad's briefs which were two times the size of his underwear or pink teddy bear boxers. I guess he never thought anyone would look anyway...:)

Well, now that that's done I can finally sleep. It's 2:18 in the morning here so I think it's the right time for me to sleep now. Night-night everybody (if it's night time in your place, of course.)

Oh, and if you're wondering, yes. Here comes the arrival of….*drum roll*

GARY-STU! :)

Just joking. There's more behind Dr. Vladislav, more than you think. So….Hope you liked this chapter. :) And yes Vladislav is a real Russian name. Got it from …..Well, just type 'Russian Names' on the internet and you'll find a long list of Russian names with meanings and everything. Thanks for reading and hope you liked it!

No suspense question for today….Too tired….

R&R Please. :D


	11. Chapter 11: Blueberry Pie for the Soul

Hey everyone. Been a while, eh? I just had my first writers block. It was….fun.

Well, here's the new chapter. Thank you for all your cooperation, patience and liking of this story. I hope you will also like this chapter.

And have you noticed that from the beginning, the story sucked? But then as it progressed it came a bit better? Yeah….That is the magic of beta readers….

..or everyone's useful advice!

Thanks to PurpleTea88 for telling me about my scrunched up paragraphs! It really helped me a lot. Thanks to emeralgreenlove for reviewing and saying nice things about my story even though it sucked at the beginning! :D Thanks to TheAFanFicWriter for also pointing out my paragraph problems and no, it didn't count as a flame :) Thank you amy-x-ian-forever for reviewing and also saying nice things about my fanfic and for also pointing out my grammar mistakes and pointing out that I forgot Alistair in Chapter 5, thanks for that! I completely forgot! Sorry! :) Thanks to Violet911 for also reviewing and giving good criticism! I appreciate it! :)Thank you also Natalie Kabra for advising that I get a beta reader and pointing out that Angela seems like a Mary-Sue, don't worry! I'll try not to make her a Mary-Sue! :D And last but not least…Thanks to my beta reader at school! (even though you haven't beta read 3 chapters in a row but this one…) :P

Anyway, thank you to all who are reading this fanfic and for appreciating it. Hope you continue reading until chapter….Whatever!

Disclaimer: I do not own 39 Clues or Stuart Weitzman's Diamond Dream Stilettos. There, happy?

**Chapter 11: **

**Blueberry Pie for the Soul.**

_Where am I? _

There, in complete darkness, stood Amy Cahill.

Her hair was a mess, her face was pale and all she wore was nothing but a hospital gown.

_Where am I?_

She had asked herself that question for more than 5 times already. She was starting to wonder if it was even her own thoughts.

Feeling confused and curious, Amy went forward and tried desperately to find anything or anyone in this dark and barren place.

_Where am I?_

There's that voice again. Amy felt a shiver go up her spine. If it wasn't her own thoughts then whose was it?

Amy stepped forward, and just like a flash of lightning, someone had magically appeared right in front of her. Amy gasped and stepped back in shock.

It was a little girl. She was small, had red messy hair that was covering her face and she was rubbing her eyes while sobbing.

_Where am I?_

The shaky words left the little girl's mouth and echoed throughout the whole dark, desolate place.

Amy flinched.

It was her. Those words were from this little girl. She was lost.

"Poor thing…" Amy mumbled. Amy made a move to come closer to the little girl and help her but then suddenly, like the gears in Amy's head had just spontaneously moved, she stopped mid way. Her hand was still reaching for the little girl.

"Y-You…" Amy trembled. Her lip quivered and she could barely even utter a sentence.

Just then as Amy was reaching for the girl, the girl had stopped rubbing her eyes to show her whole face. The girl's face was pale yet red from all that crying, her hair was red and messy, and she wore a green sweater, and she had tear stained eyes.

Green tear-stained eyes.

Amy's widened in shock and she stepped back away from the child but it seemed no matter how many steps back she made, the girl was still inches away from her.

The girl's face made no other expression but sadness as she stared at Amy.

_Where are Mommy and Daddy?_

It was her. Her 6 year old self, crying at the loss of her parents. But why was she asking herself where she was? She knew very well where she was. She was in the front yard, in front of a burning house next to her crying baby brother.

And just like that, their surroundings changed.

Amy was there, in the front yard, in front of a burning house. She looked around and saw her 6 year old self crying next to her brother, Dan. Amy felt her stomach churn and twist at the memory.

Why was this happening? Why were they showing this to her over and over again?

Amy stared at the fire in front of her. She watched as the house burned down, the crackles of fire rising up into the night sky.

Then Amy's eyes shifted to somewhere near the flaming house, somewhere behind a gather of trees and bushes.

Amy saw a cloaked Angela, just standing there, holding a lighter in her hands. She smiled as her eyes stared at the fire. Her ruby red eyes mixed so well with the light, it looked as if her soul was the one really on fire. Then Angela shifted her gaze to Amy.

Amy felt her heart stop and her blood go cold at her piercing gaze.

Angela smiled warmly at Amy and then, holding the lighter tightly in her hand, she flicked it on.

And then little Amy and little Dan were on fire.

Amy shrieked. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't…!

Everything was on fire. The trees were on fire, the bystanders, her neighbors were on fire, the firemen were on fire, even the water from the fire hose they were using was on fire which made it look as if they were trying to burn down her house even more.

Amy looked around, petrified. Then she looked over at Angela. She was the only one who wasn't on fire. She smiled over at Amy and her eyes were looking her from top to bottom.

Amy felt a sudden realization hit her. Then she looked down.

_She _was on fire.

* * *

A scream escaped Amy Cahill's lips as she rapidly rose up from the hospital bed in a cold sweat.

_Wh-What was…_

Amy looked around and observed her surroundings.

It was morning. The sun's rays were seeping out of the window.

She was in a hospital room. Her IV was there beside her.

She wore nothing but a hospital gown. She could feel a draft.

And her door was left open. Wait…What?

Amy quickly tried to stand but then, the moment she did, she was hit in the face with a pie.

A _Pie_.

Oh…But it's a _blueberry_ pie.

Amy's whole body froze.

Was this some kind of new Vesper weapon or something?

The deadly…Poisonous….Pie?

Soon enough, the pie slid off of Amy's face and landed on her lap which was covered with the white bed sheets. Amy's eyes were shut tightly so she had to wipe off the cream with a piece of tissue from the box on the right drawer to be able to see properly and when she did, she saw something she never thought she would see.

"Saladin?"

Said cat cocked his head to the side in confusion while staring at Amy nonchalantly.

Amy rubbed her eyes again, making sure it wasn't a trick of the pie and when she opened them again Saladin was still there on her bed, in the flesh.

Amy sighed in relief. At least it wasn't a Vesper…

Then Amy remembered the nightmare she just had.

Her younger self. Younger Dan. Her parents. The burning house.

_Angela…_

"What did it mean? Why?" Amy asked herself. She just couldn't shrug off the feeling that Angela had something to do with her parents' death. But it wasn't Angela who killed her parents.

It was Isabel Kabra herself.

"Then Why..?" Amy asked herself one more time.

"You really shouldn't be talking to yourself. It's kind of weird." A low sophisticated voice said out of the blue.

Amy flinched. _Wh-Who was …?_

Amy looked around franticly, searching for whoever made that sound. Then her eyes landed on Saladin.

…

A long silence followed and Amy felt her eyes just glued to Saladin's face.

Saladin did not make a move or even a sound as he was staring at Amy the same way.

…

Another long silence followed and then Saladin finally did something.

_Mrrrp…_

Amy sighed in relief for the second time today. '_Stupid! Why are you getting so worked up? Obviously cats can't talk! It's impossible! Must've been in my imagination!' _she thought to herself.

Amy then took hold of Saladin and lifted him up in the air. "Oh Saladin, what do you think I should do?" Amy said, making joke of her little notion a while ago.

"Well I suggest you see a psychiatrist…"

Wait.

WHAT!

Amy immediately let go of Saladin which caused the poor cat to fall off the bed and onto the white tile floor.

'_No! No! No! No! No! NOOOOO! This can't be happening! Saladin CANNOT be talking!' _The poor, disgruntled Amy frantically tried to convince herself. '_Yeah…That's right. Must've been my imagination again…Eheheheheh…'_

"My God woman! Have you no SHAME? How dare you allow me to fall and injure my poor paw on this accursed tile floor!" Saladin had exclaimed in disgust.

Amy twitched.

She twitched one more time.

"S-Sa-Sala-Saladin?" Amy spluttered, trying to get herself to say something. Her mouth felt like sandpaper right then.

Saladin glared at her and quickly climbed back on the bed.

Amy flinched and backed away a little. "S-Sa-"

"Yes, yes, yes. My name is Saladin. No need to stutter, deary." Saladin said, licking his paw daintily.

The whole world felt like a giant sheet of transparent paper right then. Amy's mind felt clouded and her whole body felt like a ghost. She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. "What's happening?" she said. Saladin just took a good look at her and yawned.

"Well Amy, the answer isn't always just in books…_._It can sometimes be right in your head, you just don't make the effort in finding it…" the last part ended in a fading blur as the whole scenery changed.

Amy's head spun with confusion.

'…_.right in my head…?'_

* * *

Amy slowly opened her eyes, only catching just the sight of a blurry light right above her.

She blinked, once then twice and then she slowly and groggily lifted her head up.

Then she smelled pie.

_Blueberry _Pie_._

Amy's breath hitched in her throat. _'PIE!' _Amy thought hysterically.

"_Mrrrp…" _came a purring sound.

Amy flinched. '_SALADIN!' _her hands began to shake uncontrollably.

"PHAMY! VOU AVAKE!" a loud and muffled voice said.

Amy's heart skipped a beat. '_IRINA! Wait. What?' _

Amy cautiously lifted her head up and was stunned by the sight in front of her.

There, in her hospital room, was practically everyone from the clue hunt.

And guess what..?

They were eating pie.

Friggin' _Blueberry _pie.

Then that's when Amy noticed Dan there beside her, he was holding a plate of _blueberry _pie and his mouth was just full of that _blueberry _pie. He smiled at her and carefully swallowed, allowing himself to speak properly this time. He breathed a sigh and beamed at his sister.

"AMY! YOU'RE AWAKE!" he smiled happily and did the _unspeakable. _

He _hugged _her. With his _blueberry _essence and everything!

Then Amy noticed Saladin, their Egyptian Mau, lying daintily beside her on the bed.

Then everything began to click inside of her like a solved puzzle.

'_Oh. Now I get it. All that was happening outside while I was sleeping affected my dreams. Like the __**blueberry **__pie and the talking Saladin. Aah, it all makes sense now…' _Amy thought in relief. She was just glad she wasn't going crazy.

Dan finally let go of his sister and smiled brightly at her while putting down the plate of _blueberry _pie. "Amy, I'm so glad your okay! How are you feeling? Do you need water or food or something?" Dan prodded.

Amy smiled wearily at him and that's when she noticed everyone crowding over her. She then began to blush at everyone's eyes on her. This didn't go unnoticed by Dan and he quickly went in front of his sister, acting like some kind of curtain to hide her from all eyes.

"Okay guys, give her some air. Nothing to see here!" he exclaimed. Everyone seemed to understand so they all backed away a little but then Nellie came forward and placed a hand on Dan's shoulder. "Nice work 'Oh Knight in Shining Armor'." She said sarcastically and inched toward Amy. "So Kiddo, how're you doing?" she asked her.

Amy smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. Though my shoulder's a little stiff…" she said, placing a hand on her shoulder for emphasis.

"Well, that's normal. So you don't have to worry. Just take it easy from now on, kay?" Nellie said with a wink. Amy smiled but then her expression changed to a curious one. She leaned over to Nellie and whispered in her ear.

"Uhmm…Nellie? Why are you all here eating…_Blueberry _pie." She seethed the word '_blueberry'._

Nellie smiled a toothy grin and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Oh yeah…We were just having a little get together and all, then The Holts got hungry and we ordered pie from the store nearby. Want some…?" Nellie said wearily. She took a new plate of _blueberry _pie and handed it over to Amy who just stared at it intensely.

Everyone stayed silent. Dan averted his eyes to the bathroom door. Saladin jumped off the bed with a yelp.

Then Amy grabbed the plate of _blueberry _pie and began eating it blissfully. Nellie smiled jadedly and sighed. Dan looked at her sister with an annoyed expression and went back to looking at the toilet. Saladin had already made his way to Fiske's lap.

Everyone else just stared at them, utterly confused.

Ian raised his eyebrow and decided to ask Nellie. "Uhm, Would you mind if I ask wh-" he began before Nellie already decided to answer.

"Oh, Amy absolutely **loves** _blueberry _pie. Been addicted to it ever since Fiske bought some on that one glorious afternoon."

"November 13, 12:35 a.m." Dan stated in a low voice.

Everyone grew silent.

Ian nodded and looked at Amy. "Well…At least she's feeling better now." He said, he felt a smile inching across his face. Natalie rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. Ian hissed and rubbed his side in pain.

After a few minutes of chatting and eating pie Fiske and Mr. McIntyre decided to get down to business.

Mr. McIntyre stood up and walked to Amy's bed where everyone could see. He straightened his tie and cleared his voice.

"Okay everyone. I'm going to need your full attention." He announced. Everyone stopped their chatting and Amy put down her _**11**__**th **_piece of pie as they all turned their heads to hear what Mr. McIntyre had to say.

McIntyre glanced at Fiske then he gave a nod and McIntyre nodded back. He looked to everyone and breathed a sigh. "I'm sure that you all have some questions. Questions that you were all saving for later. Well now is the time to ask those questions and let them be answered…" McIntyre said. He eyed everyone and watched as their expressions grew weary and unsure.

"Who are they?" Madison spoke up. "Those people that tried to kill Amy and get the clues from Dan."

McIntyre nodded and proceeded with answering Madison's question.

"Those people, I have to say, are the Vespers. Another family that are not theoretically Cahill's but are out to get the clues." He explained. Madison's eyes widened and her sister gasped beside her.

"I've…never heard of them…" she mumbled.

"Well that's because they are very secretive. Only I, Fiske and a few select people were chosen to know about this family." McIntyre said. Madison nodded, her face scrunched up.

"Any other questions?" McIntyre asked around the room. Natalie stepped forward.

"Do they know mummy?" Natalie asked with a bitter voice, her eyes smoothing into a glare. Ian tensed at those words.

Mr. McIntyre sighed and looked at Natalie wearily. "Unfortunately…Yes, they actually do have relations with Isabel Kabra but the details on that information are classified. I apologize."

Natalie's eyes widened and glared at the words that left McIntyre's mouth. "Why? We deserve to know!"

"Relax Miss Natalie, I know you are frustrated about your mother and all but…This information has been labeled strictly confidential by the 5 branch leaders of The Cahill Family. We all agreed that if anyone else were to find out about this information, especially you and Ian, it would surely cause problems for all of us." McIntyre explained softly.

"Spoken like a true lawyer." Dan muttered jokingly.

McIntyre cleared his voice and continued, "Now...Any other questions?"

Natalie pouted in frustration and stomped out of the room. Ian sighed and decided to follow her.

Amy watched as the two Kabra siblings walked out and she felt somewhat of a pang of sympathy toward them.

Then Alistair stepped forward. "Do you have any information on that Vesper girl who tried to kill Amy? Angela, I believe is her name?"

Amy's eye then drooped at the mention of Angela's name. _Of course_ she was a Vesper, _Of course_ she was just trying to befriend Amy to kill her in the end, and _Of course_ she's EVIL! Angela was like a set example for the stereotypical type of a bad guy who befriends you in the beginning, gains your trust and in the end, betrays you. Except Amy never even trusted her from the beginning.

"Aah yes, Angela, or more known as Angela Vesper Hollingsworth*****. She's one of the top notch agents of the Vesper's. She was trained since she was a little girl the arts of defense, offence and spying. Though she has no school records, it says that she graduated from a prestigious school in London at a very young age. She was said to be an incredible genius so she got through high school in no time. It hasn't said anything about her enrolling in a college yet, though. She also has no past records of the sort. The only other important information I could get was that she lives with her father and mother who work day in and day out." McIntyre explained.

Alistair slowly nodded. "Then…" Alistair turned to Amy. "Amy, how are you acquainted with this girl, Angela?"

Amy didn't really want to talk about it much but she went on anyway. "She went to my school. She was pretty friendly to me; well…At least I thought she was."

Everyone, even Fiske and McIntyre's, eyes widened at that.

"So she enrolled in your school just to get close to you?" Fiske contemplated.

"Of course she did! There's no other reason!" Nellie said. Fiske nodded and turned to Dan.

"Did she bother you in any way Dan?" he asked. Dan looked away, not wanting to talk about the time he passed by her in the hallways, thinking she was hot. Dan blushed a little at the thought.

Hamilton saw this and a wicked smile soon crept up on his face. "Oh, I get it now Dan. You and her go like…this?" Hamilton made a gesture with his pinkies, entwining them together. Dan almost chocked on his own saliva, Well…He did actually.

"ACK! HAMILTON, WHAT THE HELL? EWWWWW!" Dan exclaimed in disgust, he held his head in his hands and started pretend barfing. Amy sighed exasperatedly and held up her hand to Mr. McIntyre.

"Yes Amy? Do you have a question?" Mr. McIntyre asked her.

Amy nodded. "What…or really, how are the Vespers even related to the Cahill's?"

"Well my dear, I believe the answer to that question will take a while to explain so everybody get comfortable! Fiske, mind bringing the Kabra children back inside? I think they would like to hear this…" McIntyre ordered Fiske. He nodded and went out to look for the Kabras.

He had found them at the food court while Natalie was yelling at the janitor when he had accidentally mopped on her expensive "Stuart Weitzman's Diamond Dream Stilettos."

After he calmed her down, with the help of Ian, he brought them back into the hospital room and presented them to McIntyre.

"Good, everyone's here now. Fiske, close the door." McIntyre ordered. Fiske did as he said.

"Madison, Reagan, Hamilton. Close the windows please." McIntyre then ordered the Holt siblings. The three of them obliged, quite grudgingly. After all the windows and doors were closed McIntyre sat down on the edge of Amy's hospital bed and cleared his voice for probably the umpteenth time today.

"Okay…Well, I think I should begin with the story of a very honorable man….." McIntyre paused, contemplating on his words, and then he continued.

"Arthur Josiah Trent…"

Then both Amy and Dan's ears perked up at the name of their own father.

* * *

Thank God it's done! Listen, I know what you're all thinking…

Your gonna explain the whole Vesper thing even when the book explaining them isn't even out yet and when it DOES come out and you read it you're going to be very disappointed because the info you put in your story about the Vespers isn't really correct? Well….Yeah, I am kind of worried that all the info I have in this story is wrong when I read the book but…Ya know, I'll try my best anyway. Just a warning for you all that THE INFO IN THE NEXT CHAPTER ABOUT THE VESPERS AND TRENT IS COMPLETELY FALSE! Because I'm not even sure it's true. So…Please, I hope you continue reading. I hope you liked this story and I hope your looking forward to the next chapter. Sorry that I made the beginning of the chapter a little crack-like okay? I just wanted a little humor and yes…I do love blueberry pie. :)

***Yes, Angela's last name will be Vesper Hollingsworth. For those who know what that means, please don't hate me about it. I just wanted some…Ya know…..Suspense…Oh, and speaking of suspense…**

**SUSPENSE QUESTION: WHAT DOES AMY AND DAN'S FATHER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE VESPERS? WHO AND WHAT ARE THE VESPERS? WILL AMY AND DAN BE ABLE TO HANDLE THIS INFORMATION? AND WILL AMY EVER GET TO SEE HER BLUEBERRY PIE AGAIN!**

**WATCH OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! TILL' THEN~!**


	12. Chapter 12: Little Trip

Wow. Uhm…Hi there. Been a while hasn't it?

Well Sorry for the delay folks. You see, my problem was that in order to make the new chapter I needed the Black Book of Buried Secrets to explain everything but unfortunately, since I live in a part of the Philippines (MABUHAY!) the book came out longer than I expected but I was finally able to borrow one from my best friend/ beta reader (FINALLY YOU DID SOMETHING! JOKING~:P) and I read it. It's awesome, btw. So if you guys think that some information may not be enough or some information is wrong then just tell me but really, guys, it's my story so I can do whatever I want with it, so…

Warnings: Contains spoilers from The Black Book of Buried Secrets.

Enjoy reading!

Oh, and almost forgot…

I would just like to thank my best friend/ beta reader, the master of awesome/ the kind/ know-it-all/ 2 time taekwondo gold medalist and all around funny person.

Btw, she told me to write it or else she wouldn't let me borrow the book….-_- Thanks so much anyway.

* * *

Disclaimer: No. I do not own 39 Clues or The Black Book of Buried Secrets. THAT belongs to the Authors of the 39 Clues. :)

**Chapter 12: Little Trip**

"Dad? Wh-What does dad have anything to do with the Vespers?" Amy asked, incredulously. McIntyre looked sympathetically at Amy before he continued.

"Well, my dear, all will be revealed in what I am about to say…" he said. Amy hesitantly nodded and stayed silent; listening intently to Mr. McIntyre. He nodded and began his tale.

"First of all, I think I should begin with the fact that Arthur….Was, indeed, a…." he hesitated for a while before continuing. "…A Vesper." He said, barely above a whisper but since all in the room were trained clue hunters or either really close, they heard it and they all gasped; besides Fiske. Amy brought her hand to her mouth as she tried to process what McIntyre just told them. _Dad? A Vesper? Then what does that make us?_

Dan's eyes just stayed wide, his gaze lowered to the floor. He couldn't believe it. His own father, his dad, his idol, was a Vesper? The people who had almost killed his sister?

"N-No. That can't be…..That can't be true!" Amy retorted, willing herself to speak out of the shock. McIntyre lowered his head and sighed. "Amy, I know it may seem impossible for you but it is true…You're father was a Vesper and he even tried to trick your mother into thinking he wasn't…Just to get her to trust him and eliminate her after….But…" Amy and Dan's ears perked up at the mention of their own father _tricking _their mother. Dan's face went red and as he glared at McIntyre.

"Trick mom? What!" Dan shouted. Amy just continued to stare but then she snapped her head toward Dan and told him to quiet down. Dan looked at his sister in disbelief, wondering how she could stay so calm about all this, but he soon gave in. He huffed and turned his head to the direction of the bathroom door again.

"But…?" Amy gestured McIntyre to continue from where he stopped.

McIntyre snapped out of his reverie and continued, smiling as he did. "But…He fell in love with her. He loved her smile, her eyes, her intelligence, the way her nose would twitch when she laughed. Arthur was deep in love and he couldn't deny it. So….He left the Vespers to be with Hope and work with the Madrigals..." McIntyre paused and smiled as he saw Amy's face light up. "…And they had you two." He said as she looked from Amy to Dan, who was already looking toward McIntyre with his face red, not from anger but from the mention of his father and mother being so in love. He felt so happy that his father never decided to betray them, that he truly loved them like a father.

"Then what happened?" Dan prodded.

"Well…..Then, the hunt became even more treacherous. The other clue hunters became wary of Hope and Arthur. They noticed that they were good and that they were so close to getting all the clues. Back then, Arthur and Hope would have been ready and excited for the challenge ahead but….Then they had the both of you and Hope became worried. She was worried about what would happen to the both of you if any of the other branches tried to get in the way. Then her worries only escalated as Isabel Kabra came knocking on the door…"

Natalie winced at the mention of her mother's name. After all this time, she still missed her dear mother. Even after all that she's done. What could she do? She was her mother; you cannot take away a daughter's love for her own mother. But you can't take away the sins of the mother either. She saw Ian flinch beside her, he was nervous about mother too. Every time he heard the word 'Prada' he would shake. Isabel had been a big part of their lives, of course since she was their mother and she had practically hypnotized them into thinking the good ones were bad and that they were the best out of all the best even though in other's eyes they saw fear in the lowest degree.

The room became silent as this new found information began to sink in. Amy looked down at her hands. She felt that she should be angry but she didn't. She felt…Sort of free actually. Free of the lies and the betrayal. Her father may be a Vesper but at least he loved them. But one thing still lingered in her mind. "…If…..If dad was a Vesper…then…..That makes…..us…?" Amy looked at McIntyre with a weary look, as if she knew the answer to that question already. McIntyre sighed and glanced at Fiske. He held a hard look and looked down to the floor, not daring to make any eye contact. McIntyre decided to look Amy in the eyes and tell her the known truth.

"Yes, Amy. That means you and Dan….are Vespers. But truth be told, you do not really belong to them. Your father left them years ago and ever since then he has lost all ties to them." Amy felt her eyes droop. Of course, there just had to be more to all this. She heard Dan shuffle beside her and mumble under his breath.

"Great, first we had no idea who we were or what branch we belonged to. Then we figured out we were Madrigals, freaked out because we thought they were evil but then suddenly find out they're the good guys and now…We're freaking Vespers too! Well that just sucks!" Dan exclaimed, putting his head in his hands and leaning himself on the wall.

Amy wanted to laugh at her brother's silliness but she just couldn't bring herself to, everything just seemed too serious at that time.

"Hold up. Me and Arthur were fellow mates at West Point…Does that mean…?" Eisenhower suddenly burst out.

"Yes Eisenhower. Arthur reported you to the Superintendent on purpose. Though, you did generally break the rules by taking your weapon out of campus premises." McIntyre answered to a fuming Eisenhower. "But I was just showing my rifle to my dad! What's the harm in that?"

Mary-Todd came behind Eisenhower and rubbed his back gently, shushing him. "There, there. That's enough sugar maple." She soothed. Hamilton looked with sadness at his father; he told him the story of the time he got kicked out of West Point. At that time, Eisenhower's dad, Buchanan, was considered a traitor which led to the Holt's family's disgrace, though they still consider him a traitor up until now but now a day's there's been word in the Tomas branch that they're planning to demote Ivan of his position as branch leader and replacing him with a certain bulky Holt with a big heart.

Hamilton smiled. Finally, his dad was going to be acknowledged.

McIntyre smiled at Eisenhower's antics and looked at Alistair this time. The old Korean man looked troubled; he was scowling with his eyes just glaring at the floor. He saw sweat on his brow and his hands quiver.

"We have to get moving…." Alistair muttered. At first, McIntyre couldn't comprehend what he was saying but when he said it for the second time McIntyre looked at him with a solemn expression on his face.

"Alistair, I agree with you but we should wait a little more to confirm that-"

"No McIntyre! We don't have much time on our hands! The Vespers aren't rising anymore! They're already here!" Alistair exclaimed. Dan stared at Alistair awestruck. Alistair looked like a completely different man right then, with his hair ruffled, perspiration trickling from his forehead, his clothes a mess and his face in the most stressed out expression he's ever seen.

"You know what they're after McIntyre!" Alistair bellowed, his fist nearing McIntyre's face. "They're after the clues and the recipe to make them! And there's only one person in this room who knows all that!" As if something had possessed them, they all looked towards Dan who was sweating at the corner of the room.

Dan now knew how it felt to be Amy. He felt all eyes staring at him with so much intensity it was as if he was growing smaller by the mere pressure of it. McIntyre winced as he looked at Dan, the perfect mixture of Hope and Arthur. He knew very well that the Vespers were after Dan and pretty much everyone else but mostly Dan. They were going to do everything in their path to get the clues whether it be killing their own blood or killing a lot of other blood. Dan's eyes held both anxiousness and fear. By the looks of it he was trying his hardest not to run away. _What a strong boy…Just like his father…_

Dan then felt a hand on his as he saw his sister's outstretched hand grip his. He had forgotten that he was just close to her bed and that she had been there all along, staring worriedly at him. "Don't worry Dan, I promise I won't let anyone harm you." She said with her signature smile. Her eyes held so much bravery and hope that it almost made Dan want to feel it too. But no matter how much he tried to will himself to feel anything but the wariness inside of him he just couldn't.

Dan smiled at his sister and held her hand tight. "Thanks…." He muttered but Amy heard it loud and clear and she smiled a bright grin of her own.

"So then…What now? What's the plan?" Dan asked as he looked at Mr. McIntyre. The old lawyer just sighed and wiped his bold forehead with a handkerchief he got out from his pocket. "Well…We have no permanent plan yet but we're thinking that, for now, we should just be more cautious of the Vespers. We will appoint you, Dan and Amy, with body guards."

Dan smiled like he'd just won a life time supply of marvel comics. "Sweet! It feels like we're in some kind of action movie like The Terminator or Hitman or Rush Hour or…or….." Amy rolled her eyes at her brother.

Amy thought it funny of how she felt right now. She just got shot, almost bled to death, is told that her father is a Vesper and she is one too and now she has to be protected day and night from the evil killing hands of the Vespers. But even through all that, she was still able to smile genuinely. I guess she just got used to it from the Clue Hunt. Knowing that someone's out to get you isn't really that surprising anymore for her.

"It's settled then! Boys! You can come in now!" McIntyre hollered and then three muscular and, may I say, giant men came in wearing black suits and silver wristwatches. They marched in, taking up most of the room's space, dominating everyone even Eisenhower.

Amy shivered under their presence then looked wearily at Dan, expecting him to have the same expression but, to her dismay, he was gazing up at them as if they were superheroes. Typical Dan…

"Uhm, Mr. McIntyre. Do you mind if I ask who these…er, lovely men are?" said Ian from across the room.

"Aah, well Ian, these men are three of the top Madrigal agents in the whole branch. They have even been closely trained by our very own Grace Cahill." McIntyre said and at the sound of her grandmother's name Amy perked up. "You three knew Grace?" she asked. One of the men grunted and the other two just stayed silent. Amy raised a brow at their replies.

"Uhm, well…I believe I should introduce them first. Amy, Dan, This is Agent 51 or as I like to call him 'Gerald'." Amy smiled and held out her hand to shake with his. Said man grunted in response. Amy hesitantly brought back her hand and looked down at her bed sheets while Dan breathed the word 'cool'.

"This is Agent 298 or as he is called at base, 'Lion'." The man held up a hand and muttered "At your service…" Amy smiled and nodded at him while Dan peered at him with amazement.

"And last not but least, this is Agent 5. 'Susan'." Amy's eyes gazed at him wearily as she took in his muscular figure. He looked like a giant, a bald giant. He wore dark sunglasses to hide his eyes and his muscular chest puffed out so much that if you were to look at him from below you wouldn't even see his bald head. He definitely looked bodyguard material, but the kind that the evil villains used in movies. Amy gulped then glanced at Dan, yet again, he was staring at Susan with stars in his eyes. Amy sighed then her eyes widened as she saw Eisenhower Holt poking Susan's abs.

"Holy smokes! Your abs are bigger than mine! What's your secret?" Eisenhower boldly asked the man. Everyone wearily turned to look at him and hear his reply.

…

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…

"Crocodiles…." He muttered.

The whole room grew silent. Then Eisenhower just stared at the ground in deep thought.

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"THAT'S BRILLIANT!" Eisenhower exclaimed. His family slowly inched away from him.

Amy looked at everyone with wide eyes. Was this really happening? Or was this all just another dream again? Amy made a move to pinch herself and when she did she looked around. Everything seemed normal. Not a dream.

Amy sighed in relief then, across from her, she saw Ian. His face was scrunched up and worried as he glared at the floor. What was he thinking about? What was he so worried about?

Then what happened next made Amy's heart skip a beat. He looked up at _her. _At _Amy…_

What? Is he worried about me or something?

Then just as Ian's eyes caught Amy's, his face went the smallest tinge of red then looked away. Amy's face also went red then she looked down to stare at her bed sheets again. '_Stupid teenage chick flicks Nellie made me watch…'_

Then all of a sudden, a loud knock erupted from the hospital room door. Everyone jumped at the sound and all took in a ready position. Fiske held up his hand to everyone as a signal to calm down. Everyone did, and as soon as they did Fiske stood to open the door.

He slowly turned the knob and swung it open. Then there, at the foot of the door, stood a white coated, ebony haired doctor. Fiske sighed in relief and gestured for the Doctor to come in.

The doctor came inside in a rush and stopped abruptly as he looked at the room in curiosity. He took note of the three muscular men in suits, the odd atmosphere and the numerous plates of blueberry pie.

"Uhmm…E-Excuse me…" The doctor stammered. Amy smiled at him wearily. "Yes? How may we help you?"

The doctor then quickly snapped out of his reverie and went back to his professional state. "Aah yes…Well, I'm sorry to say this but…." The doctor's face went grim as he took a look at the clipboard in his hands. Amy's smile turned to a frown.

"….I'm terribly sorry but the surgery was a failure…You….You only have a few more months to live….I'm terribly, terribly sorry…." The doctor reported as he looked down to the floor in dismay. Amy felt her heart stop at these words and shake her inner core. _What...?_

_

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**Hey Guys! I know it sucks but I just had to hurry with the story! And yeah, I'm going to make Amy die...Sorry, but I wanted some tragedy in the story! Ya know~! :) So hope you enjoyed the chapter! plenty more to come! See ya next, next, next, next week! It's Christmas Break so I have to go kill my cat and stuff...So have a nice Christmas and stay tuned! Keep reading! :)**

**Suspense Note: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO AMY NOW! HOW ARE THEY GOING TO EVADE THE VESPERS! IS THERE A CURE TO AMY'S SICKNESS! FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

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**A/N: HAHAHAHA! Just joking! that's not the end, sorry if I freaked you out. Here's the continuation: :)**

The whole room went silent for a while. The whole room grew incredibly tense as everyone began to sweat and grow into despair.

Then they heard the doctor give a confused hum. They all looked up to see him flipping the pages of his clipboard. "Is there something wrong doctor?" Amy willed herself to ask even though inside she felt her heart shattering into a million pieces.

The doctor took another look at his clipboard once more before looking up at Amy.

"Er….Are you Mrs. BloomBerry by any chance?" the doctor asked in a hesitant tone. Amy looked at the doctor with wide eyes and slowly shook her head.

The doctor stayed silent for a while as he looked from Amy to his clipboard. "Oh…..OH! Oh dear! My bad, sorry! Wrong room!" the doctor said in a rush before he bolted out of there.

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"Weird…" Dan said as he looked at Amy.

"Definitely." Amy said with a smile on her face.

Everybody began to laugh and sigh in relief as Mr. McIntyre inched himself near Amy.

"Okay then, it's settled. After you get discharged from the hospital get ready to pack your things!" Amy raised a brow at him. "What?" she said. McIntyre nodded and looked at everyone in the room.

"We're going on a little a trip."

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**Eheheheh, sorry for the REALLY LATE April Fool's joke. Just wanted to push your buttons...:D**

**SUCKZZZZ! Sorry guys, I know it SUCKS SO BAD I WANNA KILL IT! But I had to hurry with the new chapter because I know I won't have enough time to finish it next time! Its Christmas break and Christmas break means family time and family time means NO COMPUTER TIME! Well…Yeah, but I'm still glad to see my family after such a long time. :) So I hope you guys have a merry little Christmas! And yep, that's right. Amy, Dan and the others are going on a little trip! You see, the whole idea is that they're supposed to be running from the Vespers until they can think up a plan to destroy them so….Yeah, ton of road trips coming' your way! Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter! See ya! :P**

**~39ninjas**


	13. Chapter 13: First Off!

Hi there! Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year~! New Chapter hot on the spot! So…Hope you like this one and NO Amy's not going to die….Not yet….Just Kidding! :D Enjoy the read.

(Note: Wrote this last year: November. I know what your thinking...Stupid, right? Meh.)

Anyway, sorry for the long, long, wait. I was just busy with my Christmas, New Year, School, etcetera etcetera. That and I was lazy...and had lack of inspiration but thanks to my beta reader (so she's finally good for something, JK!) who told me to keep going for the reader I finally ended up with this! So, thank her! Throw some pie at her...She loves pie...And cookies. Yeah, throw some in too.

Disclaimer: I do not own The 39 Clues Book series or Nike...

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**Chapter 13: First off…!**

"Amy! Hurry your butt outta there and bring it inside the car already!" Dan shouted from inside Nellie's Ford.

Said reddish-brown haired girl turned around to face her brother. "I'm coming!" she hollered and quickly thanked the male nurse who helped her down the steps of the hospital. Amy had just been discharged and diagnosed with a well condition but even with that piece of information Amy still had to be careful and walk down long steps with assistance, her shoulder still had to go through healing so they bandaged her arm up so her shoulder could make a speedy recovery.

"Amy! Hurry up! We've got 30 minutes to pack!" Nellie shouted through the driver's seat window. Amy sighed and proceeded to walk faster to the car. "Coming! Coming!" she shouted. Dan opened the door for her and helped her in, trying to be the chivalrous brother. Amy smiled at this and swiftly swung her good arm around his shoulder. Dan yelped and turned to look at his sister in horror. "What are you doing?" he seethed. Amy just smiled at him and laid her head above his. Dan scowled and just let his sister be. She just came from the hospital after all. He smiled and began to doze off along with her.

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"This is quite interesting Angela. It is the first time I've ever heard you _fail_…" said the elderly woman sitting on a large red velvet chair in the middle of the room. She poured herself a glass of red wine and sipped on it daintily. Angela continued to smile at her, not a twitch erupted from the girl's face.

"Patience, my dear elder. I have yet to unleash my grand plan. This is just the beginning." She said, her voice strong and her expression smug.

The elder woman raised an eyebrow at her and sipped at her wine once more. The buff man to the left of her decided to speak on their behalf this time.

"And your failure, I'm sure, was all part of your 'grand plan' as well?" he said, his voice booming throughout the whole room. Angela continued to stay collected, staring at them with a calm expression.

Then after a while a boy, around 15 or 16 years old, seated at to the right of the elderly woman spoke up. "Angela, you are one of our best agents and—"

"Actually, I am your best agent."

"Well….Yes, but this mission may be too much to handle with just yourself and your two henchmen. We're considering assigning another agent to assist you."

"No." Angela hissed, her eyes forming a glare. "I can do this on my own."

The boy frowned at Angela and leaned forward from his chair. "Angela, this isn't the time to be all high and mighty. This is for the Vespers, not you. Think logically."

Angela seemed to think hard for a while, her eyes looking down and her face scrunched up. Then her head whipped up to face him again, her face more calmer than before but her fists now clenched by her sides.

"I can do this on my own. I don't need any help, I assure you Masters…" she said, her voice holding back a little. The three people before her looked down at her from their chairs with emotionless eyes. They looked at each other, sending one another subliminal messages. Then they turned back down to her.

The old woman in the center nodded to her. "A month. That's how much time we will give you to at least obtain around 10 or more clues and if you can, attain the recipe from that Cahill boy…" she declared, her comrades staying silent by her sides. Angela listened carefully, her mind formulating plans in her head.

"If you fail to achieve these requirements within the time limit then we will have no choice but to release you from this mission and assign someone else…" the elderly woman warned. Angela clenched her teeth.

"Someone who can do the job perfectly…" said the boy who spoke before her. Angela felt a vein pop at the sound of those words. Her blood began rushing to her face and her eyes began to cloud with hate and anger.

Angela's henchmen stiffened behind her and made way for her as she quickly turned around and stomped gracefully toward the door. Before she was about to step behind the big brass double doors that lead to the exit hallway the muscular man seated at the left of the elder woman called after Angela.

"You fail because you strive for perfection, Angela. Do not fear failure."

Angela managed to glance back at him, her eyes forming an intense glare.

"Perfection is in my blood." She hissed before she stepped out of the room.

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"Clothes? Check. Underwear? Check. Pencils and Notebook? Check. Toiletries? Check. Extra strong Deodorant? Check. Back up Extra Strong Deodorant? Check." Dan mumbled to himself as he put things in and out of his Nike duffel bag. He seemed to scan his things for a while before his head snapped to the west of the room where a trunk of stuff lay. Dan stepped over to it and quietly opened it up. He rummaged through the many things inside until he felt this paper-like object in his hands. He grasped it and held it up to his face.

He couldn't go without this picture of his parents, of course! He smiled as he gazed lovingly at it and stuffed it in his duffel bag along with everything else. "Well, that ought to do it." He said.

"Hey, kiddo. You done?" a voice from beside the door said. Dan turned around to see Nellie leaned on the doorframe, smiling at him with her hands holding a cardboard box. Dan nodded to her. "Yup! How about you and Amy?" he asked. "I'm done but your sister's still packing. How about you go check on her and help her pack her stuff."

Dan sighed and went over to Amy's room. He knocked on the doorframe since the door was open and peered into the room. "Hey, Amy. Need any help packing?" Dan asked her. She was crouched up against her backpack, stuffing a pair of socks inside. She smiled up at him. "Nah, its fine. I'm almost done anyway. Just need to get one more thing…" she stood up and brushed off some invisible dirt on her jeans and walked over to her closet. She rummaged through some of the clothes inside and made her way toward the very corner of the closet where she put her hands under a green sweater and took something out. Dan looked at it over Amy's shoulder and saw it was a photograph but it wasn't the same as Dan's. This picture was taken just recently.

It was a picture of them and all the other clue hunting members at the Madrigal stronghold island. That was after they escaped Isabel and they just decided to take a farewell picture since they knew it would be a while before they could all see each other again. Amy and Dan were in the middle, getting ruffled on the hair by the Holts and their shoulders touched by Alistair Oh. Amy smiled down at the picture and showed it to Dan. He chuckled as he looked at it and gently placed it in the front pocket of Amy's backpack. "So…You ready to head out?" he asked her, his face still held than genuine smile of his. Amy nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

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"So we're supposed to meet at the Golden Crown Hotel where McIntyre is staying right?" Amy asked Nellie as she and Dan entered the car. Nellie buckled up her seatbelt and looked at Amy through the rearview mirror. "Yeah, Fiske is probably there right now." She said. Amy nodded and looked out the window. The skies were clear and the air was warm and sent good vibes running through Amy. But this was the day she was leaving Massachusetts, probably never to come back again.

Amy shook her head of the thoughts. If she stayed strong. Strong with Dan. Then she was sure that they—all of them—could make it out alive.

A few minutes passed and they finally arrived at the Golden Crown Hotel. Dan was the first to get out then Amy and Nellie went to go park the car. They walked into the lobby and Amy gasped as she entered. The place was magnificent! The floor she stepped on and the walls of the giant complex were made of yellow and golden colored marble and above her was an enormous and marvelous chandelier, it glittered with its many diamonds and golden chains. She looked around her and on the walls were beautiful paintings of horses, islands, sunrises and elegant women in magnificent dresses dancing with classy men in suits. Amy felt as if she were in a grand palace, setting aside the fact there were front desks and various average looking people checking in or out. The interior made it feel as if she were in one of those palaces in fairytales.

"Hey Amy! You done gawking? Cuz' Nellie and me are already in the elevator!" Dan yelled as he waved at her from the elevator. Amy turned beet red as she ran as fast as she could toward the elevator. Just seconds before it closed all the way Amy was able to slide her way in. Dan snickered as she panted and buckled her knees inside. Amy glared up at Dan and hit him on the shoulder. "Dweeb…" she hissed and stood next to him, catching her breath. Dan continued to snicker all the way up to the 13th floor.

As the elevator pinged open Dan, Amy and Nellie made their way out and into the carpeted halls of the grand hotel. "Room 1910 kiddos, 1910." Nellie said. They walked the empty halls and began looking for said room.

Amy paced the halls along with Dan and Nellie; she could hear her shoes brush against the intricate carpet floor since the halls were practically eerie with silence.

Amy began to recite the door numbers in her head.

_1905…..1906…1907…1908…...1909…._

Amy stopped. That was it, the end of the hall. Where they stopped only stood a window and a painting of a woman in a maid dress, holding a candle lamp in her left hand and a silver mug in the other. She was in a room filled with sick looking old men and she was leaning toward an old injured man in a bed with his head bandaged. Amy stared curiously at the painting. She seemed familiar to Amy.

"Florence Nightingale…" Nellie stated behind her. "She was a Madrigal."

Amy's eyes widened and the gears in her head began to move. "Nellie….What year was Florence Nightingale born?" Amy asked. Nellie thought for a moment, her fingers under her chin in a thinking position. "Hmmm….I think….1820?" she said. The gears in Amy's head stopped for a moment until Amy shook her head mentally to get them to work again. "Okay…What year did she die?" Amy's face held concentration; she never did research about Florence Nightingale much. She only knew that she helped develop a number of methods to improve hygiene and save countess lives from disease.

Nellie pondered once more for a while and then her eyes began to widen. Amy raised a brow at this. "Uhm…Nellie?"

"Kiddo, you're a genius!" she said with a big smile and set Amy aside as she walked closer to the painting of Florence Nightingale. She carefully placed her fingers under the frame of the painting and pulled. The painting then forced open, revealing dials in the back. Amy and Dan looked at it with interest as Nellie smirked and turned to the two. "Tada! Now, guess what the code is! Come on! Guess! Guess!"

Amy sighed and moved forward, pushing Nellie aside and placing her hands on the dials. She placed the numbers '1910' and then the there was a creaking sound. The wall began to move and thrust forward. Amy slowly backed away and the secret entrance was now fully open. "Man, they couldn't have made it any easier now could they?" Dan said sarcastically. "I mean, no! Let's not just stay in a normal hotel room so Amy and Dan can just ring the doorbell and waltz in all happy and dandy with no hassle whatsoever!" Dan seethed as he glared at the opening in front of them.

"Aah, but where's the fun in that?" a voice said from inside the secret entrance.

Fiske emerged from inside and quickly gestured them to come in. They obliged and scurried inside. Once they stepped inside the dark room the door behind them closed and the lights turned on.

To make it clear, everyone was expecting a nice, elegant, and quite room with the same yellow golden walls and floor like in the lobby of the hotel. Absolutely NO ONE was expecting a huge circular beige colored chamber with a hazel carpeted floor, a big bouncy brown couch, a flat screen TV the size of a family sized refrigerator, a _disco ball_, an Xbox 360, a pinball machine, a Dance Dance Revolution Pad, a foosball table, a mini kitchen with a fountain of cheese and nachos, a bag of Cheetos, a poster of Justin Timberlake next to a painting of Queen Elizabeth, an enormous water bed and a Jonah Wizard talking on the phone while laying on the big brown couch watching MTV on the flat screen TV.

"No! Listen, now worries! Just tell the press that Jonah be takin' a little vacation on his yacht down the Pacific Ocean!...Come on dad! Just say that he's very tired or…or better yet…! Say he's sick or something…." Jonah said into his cell phone. Amy and Dan stared in amazement as Fiske walked right behind them.

Dan turned around and stared incredulously at Fiske. "What the heck…?" Fiske smiled at them sheepishly and gestured to Jonah. "He decided to get the room refurbished."

"And McIntyre let him?" Dan asked, his eyes wide. Amy just continued to stare at him, her expression filled with curiosity. Fiske looked thoughtful for a moment then he smiled down at Dan with another sheepish grin. Fiske was about a head taller than Dan which made the somewhat short boy feel even more determined to at least make the benefit of being his height by stating how easy it would be to pick his pocket without noticing. This did not affect the old yet strong stone man one bit, instead, he just laughed and patted Dan on the head saying something along the lines of 'Don't worry, you'll grow someday…' this sentence made Amy think unsuitable for he didn't have to add the 'someday' to it. Now Dan is getting paranoid and has obtained a strong obsession for milk. Amy never understood what was so important about height with boys. '_Meh, boy thing. Not my problem…_' Amy thought while staring at the two males in front of her. Then, by plan of God, a suave and relaxed voice came ringing through her ears from the doorway of what seemed to be a lighted room that looked like…A bathroom?

"Well, well. Took you two long enough didn't it?" Ian Kabra said while leaning against the doorframe of the fluorescent room behind him. Amy felt her neck and ears go warm but she did not _dare _let this oncoming blush reach her face for she still had to keep a façade in front of Ian as if she _didn't _have an enormous and _growing _crush on him.

Dan puffed out his chest as Ian walked closer to them. "Well, we had to solve some stupid riddle before we could get in here. By the way, how did _you _get in here? I'm sure the hotel doesn't allow snakes inside…" Dan glared. Ian smirked at him and walked around the couch that was a few feet away from us, ignoring Jonah's constant chattering through the phone.

"I actually _stay _in this hotel Daniel. Remember? Don't live here. I live back London. So visiting here requires a grand hotel to stay in. _Right?_ Right! Good boy!" Dan felt his face go red and he just wanted to strangle Ian then and there. He was actually about to when suddenly Ned and Ted came running into the room, chasing after each other.

"Ned! Where are you! This isn't funny! Give me back my boxers!" Ted bellowed from the other side of the couch, clad in nothing but a towel. Amy felt her face flush and she immediately turned her head to look at something else. Fiske's jaw dropped as he looked at the two boys before him. One with wet hair and a dry bandage half covering his eyes as the end of it was long and dangling from the left side of his face down to his shoulder and wearing nothing but a white towel and the other boy wearing a sweater vest above his white dress shirt, perfectly dry but holding unto what looked like a pair of white undergarments with yellow smiley faces on them.

"Ned! I swear to our great Aunt Molly Claire that if you do not give me back my underwear I will personally CUT OPEN YOUR SKULL AND SCRAPE OFF YOUR OUTER MEMBRANE!"

Ned did not make a move and just smiled and held up his twin brother's underwear above his head. "You'll have to catch me first my dear brother." Ned winked and snickered as Ted made a move to run over to his brother but, being unable to see, was unaware of the presence of a couch right in front of him accompanied with a hip-hop star seated there gaping at them. So, evidently, Ted gasped as he fell forward unto the couch or more specifically unto a certain gangster star who was now staring wide eyed at the now falling-towards-him Ted. He held his cell phone closer to his ear and whispered quickly into it. "Uhm, dad? I gotta go…"

Then….

BANG.

"AHHHHHH!" shrieked the gangster star.

"WHAT THE HELL AM I LYING ON?" yelled Ted as he tried to sit up but failed miserably as he fell back onto Jonah who yelped in disapproval.

"YOU MEAN, WHO THE HELL YOU LYIN' ON! DAUG, GET OFF'A MEEE!"

"JONAH! OH GAUUUUUD!"

"Fiske….Wh-"

"I know. I'll….I'll get onto it later…."

"Okay, Now THAT is hilarious!" Dan snickered.

"…." Ian stayed silent as he gaped at what was happening. Obviously, he thought that this was such a barbaric and disgusting thing to ever happen in the aristocratic society but from the corner of Amy's eyes she could have sworn she saw his lip curl upward. Amy felt herself smile as well and her eyes soften. Even Ian, of all people, could get that this was humorous.

BARK! BARK! BARK! Came out Ted's seeing dog, Flamsteed, and in a flash the large dog pounced on them as if they were his prey.

"Gah! FLAMSTEED! GET OFF OF ME!" shouted Ted, aware that the weight upon his body was caused by his trustworthy and highly intellectual seeing dog.

Dan started laughing all out at the scene in front of him, so much that he began clutching his sides and kneeling on the floor. Then, Sinead came into the room, glaring at pretty much everything around her.

"What the heck is going on here!" she shouted, hands on her hips. Ned then dropped the piece of underwear he was holding and put up his hands above his head like a criminal would when caught.

"Uh….Er…..H-Hey Sinead. What's up?" Ned said guiltily while scratching the back of his head with his right hand. Sinead glared at him intensely then lifted her palm up toward her brother, waiting for him to give her something. Ned looked nervously at her palm and sighed. He reluctantly handed her Ted's stolen underwear and she walked off toward him on the couch.

Once she got there she scowled deeply at the scene of Ted and Jonah yelling at each other as Flamsteed started licking Jonah's face which made the gangster star quite uncomfortable. Sinead, tired of their continuous bickering and disgusted by the fact her brother was still only clad in a towel, she threw his underwear toward his face (hard) and proceeded to pull Flamsteed away from Jonah. "Bad dog! No! Off the dim-witted, unrefined, wannabe gangster star! His stupidity might wear off on your highly intelligent canine brain." She said matter-of-factly. Jonah frowned in disapproval.

"Yo. You owe me a new set a' clothes! I smell like daug!" he held up his shirt and sniffed it, scowling as he noticed dog drool.

"Actually, I believe it suits you….Daug." Sinead smirked and began carrying Flamsteed into a room that was in the west side of the suite. Ted then stood up then coughed into his fist. He blushed slightly and walked away into the bathroom where Ian had come from. Ned decided to join his sister into calming down Flamsteed and so entered the room she had gone in. Jonah complained about how bad he smelled and got off of the couch and into a bathroom that was inside of his room which was near the foosball table.

The whole room was silent.

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…

…

Then McIntyre showed up.

"Oh! You two are finally here! Welcome!" he said and walked across the room towards Amy and Dan. Ian scoffed and decided to walk back into his room, much to Amy's disappointment. Dan started telling McIntyre about everything that happened while he wasn't in the room and McIntyre stared at him with the most incredulous expression Amy's ever seen on him. Fiske sighed and decided to walk over to the couch and take a seat.

"McIntyre, aren't you forgetting about something?" Fiske said as he stared at the television which he just turned on to the animal channel. There was a documentary on crocodiles and how they mate. Dan shuddered behind Amy.

McIntyre looked thoughtful for a moment and then snapped his fingers almost instantly. "Oh yes! That's right! Thank you for reminding me Fiske. Now, uhm, please call the others and tell them to gather downstairs in the study."

Amy raised a brow. "What for?"

Dan stared at McIntyre with wide eyes. "There's a _downstairs _here? Man, this hotel has everything!"

Fiske chuckled from where he was seated and slowly stood up from the couch. "I'll get right on that." And he walked away into the nearest room. The Kabras.

"Now, if you please, follow me." McIntyre said and gestured toward a tall mahogany door at the very corner of the room. "Woah. Did not notice that." Dan said and excitedly ran over to the door.

Amy followed and McIntyre soon stood in front of the door and took out a small silver key that was inside of his breast pocket. The key looked very unique and polished. It was crafted in such a way that the key part was shaped like the letter 'M'. Amy gazed awestruck at it and soon ripped her gaze away to McIntyre who inserted the key into the key hole and opened the door.

It was dark. _That _they could guess but what they never expected was the long stone spiral steps that led down deep into a dark abyss.

Another thing that they did not expect, coming from the fact that they were experienced from the hunt and anticipated to be walking down dangerous steps with the chances of falling down into a dark abyss with one accidental slip, when McIntyre leaned into the dark entrance and pressed his hand against the left part of the wall inside. Then 'click' went the room and a light bulb soon illuminated their way. Dan was kind of disappointed while Amy was, nonetheless, relieved. They soon were walking down the steps carefully with the light reaching down to them from above.

It didn't take long until they finally reached the ground floor. The study wasn't large and grand but it was small and pudgy either. It was just a normal sized room filled with bookcases, mahogany desks, chairs and maps scattered around tables with one large world map pinned against the wooden wall. There was also one globe the size of a basketball standing there on a wooden desk with some books scattered around it. Amy gazed at everything amazed like she always is whenever she sees a place filled with books. Dan looked at everything with a bored expression on his face as he began spinning the globe around with his hand.

"This place is-" Amy began, skimming her fingers upon the shelves of a bookcase.

"Amazing?" Dan continued for her, deadpanned. Amy glared at him and continued to gaze at all the books in wonder.

"I am almost not surprised…" a female voice echoed from the end step of the spiral staircase. Dan turned his head and almost immediately rolled his eyes as he saw no one else but _the_ Natalie Kabra herself, looking disgusted at all the old books and dust collecting corners of the room. Her brother, Ian Kabra, was standing behind her with a bored expression on his face.

"Move it Cobra's! We wanna take a look at the place too!" a loud voice boomed behind them. Natalie glanced at the people behind her and rolled her eyes. She stepped aside, as did her brother, and gestured her hand toward the numerous bookcases in front of them.

"Please, be my guest. You Dolts might learn a thing or two if, of course, you know how to read. Which I highly doubt." Natalie stated. Turns out the people behind her were none other than the Holt Family themselves. Dan smiled and walked over to them.

"Hamilton! Madison! Reagan! You guys staying here too?" he asked them, holding out his fist for a knuckle touch with Hamilton.

"Yeah dude, we've been staying here ever since we got here for the reunion!" Hamilton said, smiling and ruffling Dan's hair. Dan groaned in protest but smiled up at him like a brother would.

"Man, this suite has a _lot _of rooms." Dan said. Madison nodded and nudged him in the arm with her elbow. "You bet! You could even fit an elephant in here!"

"That, I believe, is an understatement." Said Sinead who had just entered the room along with her two twin brothers and a certain gangster star who was wearing new attire while trying to make sure no more dog drool was left on his body.

"Aah, I believe accounted for?" McIntyre asked for across the room.

"Wait. What about Uncle Alistair and Nellie?" asked Amy who was looking through a book entitled 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

"Uncle Alistair is upstairs asleep on the bed. He has been quite exhausted these days so maybe we should just let him rest for a while." stated Sinead as she also began looking through some books on one of the mahogany tables.

"And I believe Nellie is upstairs sitting on the couch watching TV. She said she would be there if we needed her and that if we get a destination we would just tell her." Fiske said, looking at a map on the table.

"Destination?" Amy looked at Fiske with confusion etched on her face.

"Yes Amy. Today will be the day that we will choose the place will go to hide and plan from the Vespers." McIntyre said. Dan stopped spinning the globe and gawked at McIntyre.

"Hide? What do you mean Hide? Cahill's don't hide from trouble! We take it straight on! How about we just got look for those Vespers and blow up their base or something…" Dan said.

Ian sighed and shook his head. "It is true that Cahill's don't hide but Cahill's don't just run into battle without a plan as well." he stated. Natalie nodded, agreeing with her brother. "Oh, I hope our next destination is somewhere extravagant and beautiful like Paris for instance or…or Italy!"

"Heh. I can go there for free if I wanted to." Jonah stated, looking quite smug. Natalie glared at him and huffed.

"Well, I think we should be more spontaneous on choosing a location now don't you think?" McIntyre said. Sinead cocked her head to the side.

"And what do you mean by that McIntyre?" she asked. McIntyre gestured to the globe on the table and began spinning it. "I mean…he Vespers will be keeping a watch of us intently. Every move we make will be our downfall or our trump card. We will have a hard time choosing on what decisions to make so I have decided that we will pick our next location by…" McIntyre spun the globe around. "…random!" he said and stopped the globe with his index finger. It pointed precisely at nothing but the blue ocean of the earth.

"RANDOM!" everybody shouted, besides Amy, The Starlings and Fiske.

Jonah sighed in disappointment. "And I was gonna pitch in an idea to go to the Amazon!"

Natalie scowled. "Okay, maybe this is a good idea."

"Oh well, I guess this will have to do…." Ian said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.

"Aw man! And I was thinking of going to Antarctica and stuff! I've never been there before!" Dan bellowed in sadness.

Everyone looked at Dan in confusion, besides Amy who just sighed.

"Okay, so…How are we going to do this by 'random', McIntyre?" asked Sinead who put an emphasis on the word 'random'.

McIntyre gestured to the globe. "Sinead, if you may."

Sinead walked over to the globe that was beside McIntyre and spun it around with her right hand. "So….Let me guess, I spin this around and wherever my finger stops that will be our next destination?" Sinead glanced at McIntyre, a knowing look on her face.

Dan frowned. "Why does Sinead have to be first!"

Sinead waved dismissively at him. "Oh, you'll get your turn Cahill dweeb."

Dan glared at her and stuck his tongue out behind her head.

McIntyre nodded and stepped forward. "Please, begin. I am sure everyone is excited for what will be chosen."

Sinead nodded and looked over at the globe. She began spinning it around with her index finger. Her eyes traced all the locations on the globe. She spotted Paris, then Egypt; she also spotted Asia and Europe. Then her eyes grazed over Russia and she almost felt her spine tingle. Not there. Please.

Finally, after 5 spins Sinead stopped the globe with her index finger. It grazed along the surface of the globe and finally stopped at a certain spot.

Everyone gathered around her to see where it stopped. Where their next location would be.

"And it's….!" Dan said excitedly.

Ian leaned forward; brushing his arm against Sinead's which caused said girl to look up at him. Amy flushed and shook her head, dismissing the thoughts and leaned forward to take a good look as well.

"It's…." Ian began. The excitement he had in his eyes before was now replaced with disappointment.

He sighed. "Great. Looks like we're traveling to the Indian Ocean! Pack your swimming gear and oxygen tanks! We're in for the ride of our lives!" Ian said with fake enthusiasm as he plopped himself over to a nearby beanbag.

"My turn! My turn!" Dan ran over to the globe in excitement and shoved Sinead out of the way. Said girl glared at him and walked over to a mahogany table to lean on.

sighed. "Very well Daniel, go on."

Dan smiled, all giddy and began spinning the globe. He threw his hand at it hard enough that the globe spun with so much speed that you could barely see the continents drawn on it. Amy thought for a while that if that were really the earth spinning on its axis it would have been 500 years into the future. After 10 seconds of continuous rotating Dan finally decided to stop the globe with his index finger.

Like with Sinead's, his finger glided over the globe until the friction made it go into a complete stop. Everyone gathered around once more, trying to get a good look. Dan frowned.

Ian scoffed and said "Well, great choice Daniel looks like we're headed to the equator!" Ian smiled, his sarcasm seeping out.

Dan stared at his index finger which was positioned precisely on the equator. Dan then turned to glare at Ian. Then he walked away, arms crossed on his chest while mumbling something along the lines of 'stupid british stuck up…a-..hole….'

Fiske looked at the globe for a while and sighed. "Okay, third time's the charm. So…Natalie, step up." He said. The ebony haired Kabra girl stepped forward and walked over to the globe with poise. She smiled at the globe and began tracing it with her finger. "Very well then, I'm sure I'll have much more luck then those two…" she smiled and glanced over at Sinead and Dan who were glowering at nowhere in particular. Natalie smiled down at the globe and spun it around. Like before, after 5 spins she stopped it with her finger and it slowly made a stop at a green 'Y' shaped looking spot.

Natalie leaned over as everyone decided to keep their distance this time, afraid of getting disappointed again. The olive skinned girl raised an eyebrow as she stared at the spot she stopped at, she then turned around and looked at everyone. "Uhm….Where's the…Phee-lee-pines?" Natalie asked in such a strong accent that Dan almost winced. Amy was trying to hold back a giggle.

"Er…Natalie, I think you mean '_Philippines'. _Amy said. Natalie looked at her in bewilderment.

"Philippines? Where's that?" she asked. Amy looked at her skeptically.

"It's a country located in Southeast Asia. How could you not know this?"

Natalie turned her head to the side in a fluster as Ian came over, standing next to Amy. "She's usually more acquainted with the more extravagant and well known countries…Like Europe, Japan, Russia and what not…." He said.

Amy looked astonished for a while. "But the Philippines is also a well known country, may not be as extravagant as the countries you've mentioned but it is a very beautiful place."

"Really? Do they have fur coats?" Natalie asked, smiling in excitement.

"Well….I don't really know but they have beautiful tropical islands." Amy smiled. Natalie looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "Well, okay. May not be Europe but it will have to do."

Amy shook her head in amusement. "Trust me. You won't regret it."

Then that's when Fiske and McIntyre decided to intervene. "Okay then, seems it's all settled then?" McIntyre walked over to the girls, a smile on his face.

"The Philippines will be our next destination." Fiske stated his expression calm. Jonah then plopped himself down on a beanbag. "Cool! Yo, I got me a stronghold there!" Jonah said. Everyone turned to Jonah.

"Really?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, daug!" Jonah said, holding up his fist for a knuckle touch which Dan obliged to do easily.

"Great! So….Then we're off?" Ted said uncertainly. Fiske smiled and patted him on the head.

"You got that right. So, get your bags ready, wake up Alistair, get Nellie, go and fetch Saladin from the cat parlor, and get the car. We're ready to go. First off…The Philippines!"

**~x~ Somewhere Else:**

A black SUV came speeding down the asphalt as the sun hanged down from above them. The two people occupying the passenger seats paid no mind to the weather and no mind to the speed of the car. These two people only paid mind to one think and that was the folders they had in their hands.

"Hey, this guy looks funny…" the one to the right said.

The one at the left looked at the other's folder and sighed. "That's Jonah Wizard. The Janus, remember?"

The other person looked astonished for a while. "Oh yeah! Jonah Wizard! The gangster boy!"

The other one sighed once more. "Just keep reading. We're gonna need as much information as possible…"

"Oh fine! But really, we don't even know where they are right now or where they're going! What are we gonna do about that!" judging from the volume of her voice the other person must be considered a loud person. The other winced and inched away.

"Shhh! You're too loud! And besides, we're going to get word from HQ soon on their location…"

The loud person huffed. "Fine!" from the looks of it these two were evidently female and were of the same age. The other, though, seemed more mature.

Then, the mature one of the two placed her two fingers on her earlobe where a wireless communicator lay. "Roger. We're on our way." She said and looked at the other girl. "Well, what do you know? Word from HQ just got in. They have a location." She said. The other girl looked surprised and inched closer to the other. "Well? Where?" she asked.

The other girl smirked and looked forward. "The Philippines."

The louder of the two cheered. "Cool! Should we tell Angela?"

The other girl then frowned. She looked at the girl to her right and glared at the window past her. "No."

* * *

Tada~! DONE! Sorry if it took so long! …I got….School? And I'm really busy. Okay, reeeeeeeeallly sorry, OK? I guess I was too lazy….Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I thank my beta reader and computer and ALL OF YOU OFCOURSE! Oh yeah, and Saladin is in the cat parlor. Explains the disappearance right? :P

BTW: Their first destination: PHILIPPINES! I know, I know. I chose my own home country as their first stop but hey! You never know! Going to the Philippines might be interesting for them! After all, I belive they haven't went to the Philippines in the book yet right? So...TADA! PHILIPPINES HERE WE COME! Hope you look forward to the next chapter! Bye~

R&R


	14. Chapter 14: Welcome to the Philippines

Hey all my dear loyal readers! Miss me? No? Okay….

Yeah…Sorry for being gone for so…long. Hope this makes up for it and Oh yeah, I apologize to those of you who were either offended or enraged about the Late or Early April Fool's Joke I put on Chapter 12. Didn't mean anything bad, I just thought it was funny. Also I respect those reviews with helpful criticism. Not ones with bashful content that don't really help in the progress of this story. No offense. Again, I sincerely apologize to those who did not like my little Joke on Chapter 12. Seriously, I'm new here. Didn't mean to push your buttons too hard. Geez…Oh yeah, and the secret to Dr. Vlad will remain…a secret. Until the following chapters.

And I would like to thank all who reviewed especially one particular anonymous reviewer from Canada. Thank you for your heartfelt review on my story and I am honored that a person from such a great country would review my story and such a great person too! :) Thanks for that review. You made me boost my morale to a now….87%! :D That's more than before! Well, continue reading and reviewing Sam! And that goes for the rest of you~! :D

**Disclaimer: I hereby state that I, 39ninjas, do not own The 39 Clues. Nor am I the President of The Philippines. :3**

Welcome to the Philippines

By: 39ninjas

It had been a while since they'd last been inside an airport.

Amy looked around the large complex, trying to find the schedule board for their flight. Dan was sitting down by Gate number 3, eating some Lays while Nellie was, as always, listening to her iPod and bopping her head to the music. Alistair and the Holts were hanging by the souvenir shop, taking a look at some of the Red Sox hats being sold. The Kabra's were daintily sitting near a coffee shop nearby. Natalie was seated there, sipping on her hazelnut cappuccino while reading a _Times Magazine _with her brother, Ian Kabra, next to her eating a tomato cheese omelet. The Starling Triplets were by the restrooms; Ned and Ted were waiting for their sister who had been in the ladies room for about 30 minutes. Jonah hadn't arrived yet, saying in a text message that he'd be late due to fans and paparazzi trailing his every move so he called up his dad to bring him over an appropriate disguise to wear for the mean time.

Amy smiled inwardly. She finally found the schedule board for their flight:

Flight: Boston, Massachusetts USA (BOS) - Manila, Philippines (MNL)

Departing: 2:00 p.m.

Gate:12

Amy glanced at her watch and sighed. Great, their flight departs in an hour and they were at the wrong gate by miles. Amy walked over to her brother slowly; her eyes glued to the passports in her hands.

"Dan. Bad news. We have to get up and walk." Amy deadpanned as she picked up Dan's backpack from the ground. Dan scowled at her and swallowed the chewed up Lays in his mouth. "My dear sister, do you really think I am _that_ lazy?" Dan said in a mock British accent as he stood up from his chair with a groan and began stretching his arms. He slumped forward just a little and yawned as he scratched the middle of his back. Amy stared at him with an impassive look on her face. "Unfortunately, Yes. Now come on. We're headed to Gate 12. Tell Nellie too and the others. I'll go inform the Kabra's." Amy then proceeded to walking toward _Café Le Croissant_ (**A/N: Completely stupid attempt to name a French café)** to talk to the Kabra's.

* * *

Ian daintily sipped on his cup of Chamomile Tea while glancing at Natalie every now and then. She had been acting quite odd nowadays. She'd been spacing out more often than before when Isabel was put in jail and to top it all off, she's wearing the same outfit from two weeks ago!

_Impossible…This couldn't be….PMS? Could it? She's had it tons of times before and it has never interfered with her wardrobe. So….What could it possibly be? _Ian thought to himself. But then, as he bit into his last piece of omelet, realization hit him. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a crack. _No…Could it be? _He thought. Ian tried to shake it off as nothing but the thought was already there. It was plaguing him now and it disturbed him to no end. Ian glanced over at his sister once more. She was spacing out again. She had been on the 'The Hottest Celebrity Couple' page for too long. Then, it was like a rocket just plummeted through the sky, hit a few rocks in the meteor belt and sent a little miniscule one down here on earth to hit Ian on the head deceptively.

Ian began mentally pacing. It really is happening. For the first time in his brotherly hood life it was finally happening. Natalie was acting so different, so odd, wearing the same outfit, and actually thinking about buying some low priced _hotdogs _for lunch. This was all happening because of…..because of….

_Boy Problems…_

Ian gasped inwardly. It was finally time for him to let out the "protective brother" phase. He never expected it to be so early, heck; he never expected it to even happen at all. The only interest Natalie ever had in men was when she was researching on Napoleon saying she was inspired by his "short yet powerful" stature. But wait….

Natalie then proceeded to slowly turn the page on her magazine, finally arriving at the 'Most Stylish Red Carpet Dresses' page and her eyes began to go back to their more interested, soulful look. Ian gulped. But then a thought crossed his mind. A thought that made his whole world stop for a millisecond.

_Who's the boy?_

"Hey Ian, Natalie. Are you guys done? It's time to move over to Gate number 12. Our flight departs in an hour so I think we should board now. Hey. Kabra's?" Amy cocked her head to the side and stared at the two Kabra's who were currently spacing out. Ian snapped out of it first and looked up at Amy with a confused expression. Then his face relaxed as he smiled up at her.

"Yes, is something the matter, love?" he asked. Amy felt her cheeks flush from the nickname. She was never really that used to it yet. "Actually, yes. Something _is_ the matter. We have to move now. Airplane's gonna depart soon and Jonah isn't even here yet." Ian raised a brow and then turned his head to look at his sister. Natalie closed her magazine and stood up, picking up her Louis Vuitton suitcase.

"Aye, aye Captain Speech Impediment." Natalie said, her voice monotone and walked ahead of them toward Gate 12. Amy raised an eyebrow at Ian, silently asking _'what the hell is up with your stuck up sis?' _but Ian just shrugged, also asking himself the same question.

…

"So….Uhm….How's it going?" Ian asked.

After Natalie had left the two in a whirlwind of confusion there followed and awkward silence which then lead the two to being walking partners in going to their respective gate.

Amy turned to Ian, her face showing a hint of nervousness. "W-What?" _CRAP! Stupid stuttering!_

Ian looked at her, his face held a calm and cool exterior from the outside but in the inside he was melting into a pile of arrogant goo. "You know…How things are going in your no-more-clue-hunting life! Like…How's the Madrigals doing? Any progress in School? Gained any new friends or acquaintances? Got a new pet?" his mouth just began moving on its own as he started rambling continuously, "News on your Love Life?" and at that, Ian's face began to heat up.

"W-What?" Amy squeaked, her face reddening. She began fiddling with the strap of her backpack. Ian mentally did a mental face palm as he averted his eyes from Amy.

_You are a Lucian. Lucian's take control of their emotions. Lucian's are strong-willed, feisty, and deadly people. Always at the top. Never backing down. Great leaders and Spies. We have held our foundation sturdily all these years and never have we EVER lost at ANYTHING. Well…Maybe except for the 39 Clues but….That doesn't count! I guess….Anyway, I am a Lucian! And Lucian's DO NOT…WILL NOT…EVER-_

"I-I mean…"

-_STUTTER!_

Ian clutched his hands as they shook. _DAMMIT! If Mother were here she'd boil me in hot water! _Ian thought. Then, in between the tension, the awkward silence and the heavy atmosphere Amy…giggled.

Ian's head shot toward her, his face irritated. _How DARE she laugh at my appearance of error!_

But then Amy smiled at him, her redness gone and replaced with a glow Ian could not decipher. "Well…The first question is…Classified." She said. Ian nodded, amused. "School is….fine. I'm getting high grades, as always." She continued as Ian listened intently. "I gained some friends, some acquaintances and some…enemies, I suppose." Ian raised a brow at that. Amy smiled and looked at him shyly. "Speed Reading opponents." She said and Ian inwardly sighed in relief.

"Me and Dan still have Saladin. Though, Dan was thinking about buying a Chinese fighting fish. But…We were worried about Saladin and…Well, you know…" Amy said. Ian nodded understandingly.

"As for that last one…Well…" she said, her face reddening once more as Ian tried holding back his blush. "I…I don't really have…Uhm….Anyone r-right now…" Ian smiled at her and nodded. "How…Uhm….Lovely." he coughed and silence followed soon after. But this time, it was a comfortable silence.

After a few more minutes Amy and Ian had finally arrived at their gate. But as they stopped, their breaths had caught in their throats at the sight before them.

* * *

"Uhm… Is there something the matter, yes?" a man with a white beard and as white hair, accompanied by a brown bowler hat and a white tuck in dress shirt with cream colored trousers along with suspenders asked the group that was circling him which was none other than…The 39 Clues gang—aside from Alistair who was sleeping on the metal benches and Ian and Amy who were watching in horror.

"Drop it Jonah, we know it's you." Dan whispered, only loud enough for the gang to hear.

The man before them raised a brow. "Uhm…Excuse me but I…I don't know w-"

"Oh please Jonah! Of course that's you! You have the same skin color, that wig and beard look awfully loose and your voice isn't doing a very good job at sounding like an old man's." Natalie interjected. The man flushed and appeared speechless for a while.

"Seriously, for a Janus, you suck at disguises." Hamilton said. Everyone began to chuckle and laugh along with Hamilton.

Amy and Ian stood on the sidelines, watching the whole thing take action. Ian wanted to say something but didn't exactly know what to say or do. Amy was just…at a loss for words in general. Seriously, Jonah could NOT pull off a decent disguise.

Just then, a man wearing a black tux brushed Amy's arm with his. She looked up at him and raised a brow. The man was Caucasian with light hazel blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He smiled at Amy nervously and coughed. "Uhm, yo cuz, what are the others doing over there?" the man said, barely above a whisper to her. Ian heard it though and that's when both Cahills froze in their spot.

Ian slowly and shakingly turned his head to the man, eyes wide. "…Jonah? Is…Is that you?" Ian hissed softly. Amy was, yet again, at a loss for words as she stared wide eyed at the man before them. "Yo daug, of course it's me! What did you think? That a Janus, a family composed of the most artistic people in the world, would wear a cheap disguise?" Jonah smiled smugly and fixed his dark blue tie. He looked like a handsome, intelligent, American business man getting ready to board overseas for work. Amy inwardly sighed. Of course! It's Jonah Wizard, after all. He's a Janus! Now, someone she would expect to wear a cheap disguise would be Dan. She shivered remembering the time they had to wear those flimsy disguises at the airport and the one's in their passports when they had to fly to Russia. But…they still had to make sure it was really him. She could feel Ian think the same thing as both glanced at each other with the same look in their eyes. Ian cleared his throat and looked at the supposed 'Jonah' in the eye. "Okay, well, if you really are Jonah. Then you'll have to prove it." 'Jonah' nodded and stayed silent.

The moment of silence continued to reign on until Ian smirked and placed his hand in his pocket and leaned closer. Amy nodded firmly and leaned in as well. Ian gestured her to go first as Amy smiled and cleared her throat.

"In the beginning," she said. "Which airport did you meet us at in Paris where we went into your limousine?" Jonah looked thoughtful for a while and then smiled at them, showing off his dazzling white teeth. "Charles de Gaulle Airport." He said. Amy looked at Ian and nodded. "Correct." Ian sighed and looked at Jonah. He smirked. "When we were in the Gauntlet, what question did you have to answer when you were only barely conscious?"

Seconds past and Jonah turned to them with a positive look. "What is the name of Shakespeare's lost plays?" Jonah said, his face then twisting into a thoughtful one. "Even if I _was _barely conscious, I remember everything pretty clear like…" Amy's eyes widened and turned to Ian. He nodded and said "Correct…" then he paused for a moment. "So then, what was the answer?"

Jonah smiled, a large one at that and leaned closer to Amy and Ian. He then proceeded to change his voice to make it sound as if he was in pain and his voice was rasp and gasping for breath, almost as if he was reenacting that moment in the gauntlet.

"Don't tell…fans…I know…" he gasped. "Double Falsehood…The History of Cardenio…And Love's Labour's—" he faked coughed in pain and winked at them before standing back in upright position. After that Amy and Ian had an amazed look on their faces and almost by coincidence did the three of them say, at the same time,

"—Won."

Amy smiled. "Nice costume Jonah." She said. Jonah smiled goofily and touched his neck. "Silicon body suit plus robotic stilts on my legs plus blonde wig plus dark blue eye contacts plus a whole lot of Professional Hollywood makeup artists equals..!" he spun around dramatically. "…Baker. Andrew Baker." he said. Ian and Amy both smiled as Amy chuckled in amusement.

Then, almost abruptly, her eyes widened. If the real Jonah was with them now then that means…!

She quickly turned to the others who were still pestering the poor man who was obviously baffled beyond compare. She turned to Ian who stared at them with a forlorn look in his eyes. "I…think we should stop them now before they reveal anything too…secretive." Ian said and both nodded before walking over to them and pulling each and every one of them away before things got too messy.

"We apologize sincerely sir! They must've mistaken you for someone else!" Amy called out to the man.

"They have also been on some strict medication so they may be a little delirious. We apologize!" Ian said with a crooked smile, trying to keep hold of his sister, the gruesome au pair, and the two Starling boy's as poor Amy had to take care of her brother, Sinead and the Holt's who were really just following like confused puppies. After everyone was where they were supposed to be the others began complaining and asking questions. Ian sighed.

"Okay, okay. First of all, everyone should calm down and stay silent for a moment's time." Ian said, his voice soft to avoid anybody getting irate. Everybody stayed quiet, listening to Ian (FOR ONCE) and choosing to glare at him instead. "Second," he said. "_That _was not Jonah." At that, everyone raised eyebrows. Ian sighed and gestured to the handsome, blonde man in a tux behind him and Amy. "_This,_" he hissed silently for only them to hear. "…Is Jonah."

…

…

…

"Yo!" he said, holding up his hand."

Everyone stared.

…

…

…

"EPIC." Dan said, his face twisted in amazement. "That is so cool man! How did…" Dan then mentally facepalmed himself. "Of course! Janus, Artists, Hollywood! DUH!" he said, slightly embarrassed for thinking otherwise.

The others were trying to regain most of themselves (and their pride) after just being informed of their little…erm…'mistake'. "Well…it was just odd! I…I mean…That other guy was so…so suspicious! His wig was so loose and his…his voice was…weird and…and…" Natalie tried to justify herself but only came up with useless drabbles. Sinead, though, nodded. "He did seem quite odd, maybe we should follow him."

"The only reason we even decided to use a public airplane was so that we wouldn't become an open target. If we fly all in one jet or even separate we're sure to get hit by the V's." Amy said, looking elsewhere.

She never really liked calling them by their whole name and much better liked it that she gave them an initial. She also did it for secretive purposes as well. "Anyway, at least if we do it this way then there's less of a chance we'll get attacked by the V's, especially if there's so many civilians. Now if the V's were smart, they wouldn't risk their name for that.

Sinead frowned "But we should at least check it out! I mean—"

_All passengers boarding flight from Boston, Massachusetts to Manila, Philippines may now board at Gate 12. _

The speaker above them boomed. Amy sighed and fixed her bag. "Save that for later. Let's board." She said and walked toward the gate.

The others followed suit. Sinead huffed and proceeded on waking Alistair after getting her luggage. "Hey, old man. You alright?" she said. Alistair nodded as he stood up, bringing along his suitcase with him. "I'm fine dear.

Age is just catching up with me, I suppose." He smiled and Sinead gave him one of her own, except it was a sad one. They then walked toward the gate together where they would all begin their journey. Where they would all start a new chapter in their lives.

_Amy better be right about those Vespers choosing the smart side. But of course, Vespers must be as intelligent as us Cahills…_

* * *

"_What _are you wearing?" a girl with long curly black hair tied in a ponytail hissed at her comrade.

The one before her leaned down next to her friend who was crouched behind an empty metal bench at the waiting area. "What? You said I had to wear a disguise!" the other complained. The girl before her growled in frustration and clenched her fists. "I _said _to disguise yourself. But not like…like _this_!" she gestured to her companions current outfit which looked of some kind of short, gold-skinned 15 year old _trying _to dress up as an old man.

"But…But…Come on! I even got the silicon skin! And…well…I bought the wig and the beard at a party store but still…! It even got the Cahill's confused! They thought I was some guy named…Jonas? Or something like that."

The other girl closed her eyes and proceeded to facepalm herself. "…And they call you one of the best Vesper agents in the industry…" she sighed. "It's JONAH. Jonah Wizard. Remember? He was in the documents the boss gave us. You even said he looked funny." She said. The other girl then had her eyes wide as she recalled the memory. "Oh yeah! That's guy! The Janus! I wonder why they would think I'm him though…They were pulled away before I even had a chance to explain myself!" she said.

"I think that's better. After all, we don't want them finding out we're here just yet." The other said and quickly dug into her duffel bag to retrieve some clothes. She then handed them to her other companion. "Here. Go get out of that crappy costume and into these regular clothes. We don't want you getting anybody else's attention. " She commanded. "After you change we will board the plane with everyone else, got it?" The other just nodded, took the clothes, and did a salute to the former. "Aye, Aye Captain Aria!" she said and quickly ran to the bathroom.

Aria shook her head and turned to look at her companion leave. "You are such an idiot, Klara"

* * *

"I love the nightlife, I got to boogie on the disco 'round, oh yea! Oh, I love the night life, I got to boogie on the disco 'round, oh yea~!" Nellie sang along to the beat of the current song on her iPod. Dan turned to look at her. _Disco? Last week she was into Dutch songs._ He thought and went back to reading his comic book.

It had already been 3 hours into the flight and so far, no danger. But the others were still keeping their eyes open. Dan had been arranged to sit next to Nellie while Amy and—guess what?—Natalie were seated behind them and very begrudgingly might I add.

3 aisles after them, in the middle row, occupying four full seats were the Holt kids, plus Jonah—erm, Andrew Baker.

The Holt kids were wide awake with Madison and Hamilton fighting over the correct answers to the crossword puzzle they were playing. Reagan was just silently watching them, her mind drifting elsewhere while Jonah was listening to his music, no seriously, _his _music.

He got a disc of his latest album _Art thou Gangsta _from his dad and frankly, he enjoyed it. He loved how his lyrics and the beat mixed in with some of Shakespeare's famous lines and poetry, and Miss Pluderbottom loved it too. He gave her a disc right before it even came out. Heck, she was his homie after all.

He smiled remembering it all. Then, he turned to Reagan who was staring off into space with a worried expression. He took off his earphones and bumped his shoulder with Reagan's to get her attention.

She jumped a bit and turned her head to him. "W-What do _you_ want?" she tried to seem all enraged and tough like her siblings were but Jonah could see that she looked scared and even worried. He beamed at her.

"Yo, you seem troubled. Got anything you wanna let out?" he asked. She seemed taken aback for a while and quickly denied it, looking elsewhere to avoid anymore questioning but Jonah didn't take people ignoring him very lightly so he positioned his hand on the top of her head and twisted, making it move toward him.

"Now, don't be like dat. I know something's wrong. When a Holt like you starts grimacing like that, there's got to be trouble."He said, his eyes serious.

Reagan stared at him for a while before looking over her shoulder toward her two sibling who were too engrossed on their game of crossword to pay any attention so Reagan deemed it safe enough to speak out her thoughts.

"Well…You see Wizard—" she began.

"Call me Jonah, yo." He said, ruffling her head in a brotherly manner which Reagan responded to by taking his arm and twisting it in an uncomfortable way. Jonah squeaked in pain, his silicon skin was already _very _uncomfortable and being in this position did not make it any better but he was let go of soon after he piped up an 'uncle'.

"Alright fine! _Jonah._" Reagan spat before continuing. "I…I just feel uncomfortable about…you know—"

"No daug, I don't know. That's why I'm asking you." Jonah said, his face blank before Reagan wacked him upside the head. "Ow!" he yelped. "Sorry…Go on." He said.

She sighed heavily and crossed her arms as she rested laid back on her seat. "It's just that…I feel…weird…about my parents not being here." She said silently, her voice just above a whisper so only Jonah could hear her.

He nodded and urged her to continue on. "I've never been on an expedition like this without them and…and I know dad has to take care of Tomas business since he's just been elected branch leader and all and mom ahs to help him…" she smiled, remembering how happy her parents were at the news. After all those years of being known as the 'Dolts' they've finally been noticed and are now the top dogs of the branch.

"…but….I just….I miss them…and…and I'm worried that something might happened while we're gone or…or something might happen to _us_ while we're gone. Or…Or…"

"Or what, sis?" Hamilton suddenly interjected, making Reagan jump in surprise. "H-Ham! I…I didn't…Well…" Hamilton smiled down at his sister and put a brotherly arm around her shoulder. "You don't have to be such a worry wart you know…We can get through this together. Besides, you know mom and dad; they've got the Tomas blood in them. They can take care of themselves."

Reagan looked up at her brother in amazement. "Yeah! Don't you ever think such stuff like that! We're Holts! We never back down and show weakness!" Madison leaned in and placed a hand on her twin sisters'.

Reagan beamed at them and chuckled. At first she thought they would tease her about being such a pansy and hold this over her forever but it turns out they could be really comforting siblings when they wanted to be.

Then in a second, Hamilton had her in headlock with Madison pulling on her arm with intense force. "So don't ever act like such a pansy again!" they both exclaimed in unison as Reagan gagged and hollered in pain. Jonah stared wide eyed at them and after a few more minutes, smiled and put on his earphones.

_I wonder how dad's doing?_

* * *

"Uhm…Sir Broderick?" the butler entered the office where Broderick was on his BlackBerry. He held up his hand for a moment before saying a goodbye to the caller and put his phone down. "Yes, is there anything you needed Robert?" Broderick asked nicely as he shuffled through the rest of his paperwork and glanced at the picture of him and Jonah, already missing his son.

Robert seemed to shake for a while before proceeding to enter the room with the wireless telephone in hand. "Er…Madame Cora would like to speak with you…" he said.

The words echoed into Broderick's head, causing his whole body to shake and a few document to fall out of his hands.

"Shi-Tell her I'm busy!" Broderick quickly covered up. Robert gulped and looked down at the phone, then at Broderick.

"She says it's very important. Concerning the…the Vespers." He said. Broderick's eyes then widened at the name and he quickly stood up, thanked Robert, and held the phone against his ear as Robert silently left the room whilst closing the door.

He frowned as he heard the fast breathing of his ex-wife on the other phone; it was like she had just ran a marathon or something of the sort.

"Cora, what happened?"

_Message to all passengers, we will be experiencing some temporary turbulence. Please fasten your seatbelts._

"Urghhh…" Sinead complained as she covered her mouth. Her face was slowly shifting to a shade of green and she was leaning forward. Ian gulped; he never really did like barf. No one did. Unfortunately for Ian he just _had _to be seated with the Starling triplets while Alistair was in the row behind them, sleeping his ass off with a bunch of random people he didn't even know!

Ian groaned in complaint and begrudgingly took the barf bag in the seat pocket before him and handed it to the sick looking Sinead.

"Here. Just please don't puke on my Armani pants." He said, his face stricken with disgust at the thought. Sinead just looked at the barf bag and put it away. Ian raised a brow at this. "No, no. I'm fine, just the turbulence." She said.

Ian rolled his eyes and handed her the barf bag anyway. "Just…in case." He said, his eyes fixed on her. Sinead smiled and nodded her thanks, clutching the barf bag close to her swaying stomach. Ned and Ted were both fast asleep which left just both of them seated there, thinking of nothing in particular. Well…maybe a certain someone is thinking about a certain _pretty Cahill book worm someone_ and how she could be coping with his venomous sister in such limited space and how she gets her hair so _soft._

Ian twitched.

…

…

…

**No.**

"Hey Ian…?" Sinead suddenly called. Said person turned his head towards the female of the Starlings. "What?" he asked. Sinead looked away shyly for a moment before going back to looking at him in the eyes.

"Do you…have a girlfriend back home? Or at least someone special…" she asked out of the blue which made Ian jerk slightly. He was _almost _about to blush when he suddenly reminded himself that he had done enough of that in the airport. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well…Uhm…Not _really. _All the girls back home are _incredibly _annoying. No one I would really be involved with." He said, his eyes closed. Amy and her stutter suddenly crossed his mind (_yet again) _and his eyebrow twitched.

Sinead ogled at him wondering how such a handsome man could not have a single girlfriend. Then deep inside Sinead chuckled evilly. _I may be able to fix that…_

Ian sighed and pressed the button on his seat, making it go backward at the same time turning off his light. "It's late. You should go to sleep. We arrive at Manila tomorrow." He said before closing his eyes and entering into a deep slumber filled with dreams about a certain _bookworm_.

* * *

**Time: 8:05 am; Monday**

**Location: Manila, Philippines.**

**Status: All Safe and Unharmed, aside from The Holts who harmed themselves…**

_Good morning all passengers, we have now arrived at Manila. In a short while we will begin landing at Manila International Airport please fasten your seatbelts._

Dan sighed in relief. Finally! They were finally in Manila. Then after they land they'll have to take a drive toward the docks then take a quick boat ride to some island they'll be staying at. Dan chuckled with pleasure; he'll be having so much fun here, especially since they'll be in a secluded island with everyone else. Time for some sea water bucket throwing at certain _Cobra's. _Maybe at some _Star Aliens_ too

Amy smiled. They were finally in Manila. Thank goodness they made it here safe. Amy had been worrying all night that her assumptions were wrong and that the Vespers _were _going to try to attack the plane.

But it turns out she was right and they were all safe and sound and soon enough they'd all be out of this small airplane where she could finally get some fresh air and be _away _from Natalie.

The whole 3 hours last night was mostly spent on her insulting Amy on her ugly choice of clothing, the color of her unruly hair, the thick books she kept on reading, her dirty fingernails, her unsightly shoes, the way she eats her food, the way she talks, the way she drinks, the way she clears her throat and even the way she scratches her eye. SERIOUSLY. Amy was so glad this was all over.

She just hoped with all her might that next time, she'd be the one to choose her seat.

* * *

"HEY! JONAH! WAKE UP DUDE! YOOO!" Reagan yelled in the former's ear, making him jolt up from his seat. "What? Where! Where's the…the….Sup?" he drawled as he wiped off the drool that w as dripping from the corner of his mouth. "We're in Manila now!" Reagan yelled, irritated. Jonah backed off for a second, his hands in front of him in a protective manner.

"Yo daug, no need to be yellin'. I getz the drill." He said. Hamilton sighed, chewing on his protein bar while Madison chuckled while watching the whole scene take place.

Alistair on the other hand had been awake for some time now, listening to the calming nature sounds on his MP4. He smiled. How he loved Forest Wagtails in spring morning.

* * *

"Ian…"

Ian tenderly opened his eyes which were still in its dreamy condition. "Yes, love…?" he sang dreamily before having his eyes shot wide open and having his body do the same as he realized who he had just spoken to was definitely _not _the one in his dream. "Sinead! Erm…What is it?" he exclaimed, his face panic stricken. Sinead ogled him for a while before replying to his question.

"Uhm…We're in Manila now. I just…wanted to inform you, that's all."

Ian sighed and nodded his thanks to her. Thanks the heavens they were finally here. He looked around and noticed the two other brother were well awake and reading some magazine about _The Hottest Female Scientists of the Year. _

Hm. So they _are _normal boys.

* * *

The hotter than usual temperature was something they'd definitely have to get used to but nonetheless the place was beautiful. The gang had just gotten off the airplane and had finally met with Uncle Fiske and Mr. McIntyre who had to take a separate jet. All their bags and luggage's were placed into a small van while the rest of the gang was informed to be riding in a separate limousine instead.

"Nice, it's a good thing we still keep our wealthy appearance in check." Natalie smiled while Dan rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, I'm glad you were all able to make it here. Bad news is that word from HQ just came in saying that the Vespers have taken a lock on your location." McIntyre explained. At that, everyone began panicking a little.

"Well Crud! What do we do now?" Dan said, his face in worry. McIntyre calmed everyone down. "Now, now, no need to fuss. The good news is that it seems they have only gotten location on what country and city you're going to.

They still have no idea where you exactly are and with 2 hours we will be on a secluded island that no one has ever heard and or seen in Cahill history.

"Oh really?" Natalie scoffed. "…And why is that?"

"Well…" McIntyre began. "That's because it's new." He smiled. "All will be revealed once you get there. Now, everyone get into the limousine and we will be arriving at the boat in an hour."

Everybody complied and proceeded to enter the long limousine. "Oh yeah, and one last thing." Fiske beamed as he entered the limo along with everyone else while McIntyre stayed in the front seat.

"Welcome to the Philippines." He winked.

* * *

I apologize sincerely if there are any typos or grammar mistakes. I'm just too tired to edit it out right now so forgive me for that... Yeah, so…Hope you liked that extra long chapter…..O_-

Sorry….it's 3:31 a.m. and I am beyond sleepy. REALLY, REALLY sorry about being gone for so long, hope this makes up for it and remember kitties:

Read and Review.

Love ya!

**EXTRA:** Oh yeah, about the PMS thing with Natalie. I know she's way too young to have that but heck! I had it the same age so why not give Natalie her's early? Eheheheh...Erm...Yeah.

**EXTRA2:** Yay! You now know the names of the two mysterious people who are tailing the 39 Clues gang. Don't worry, they're not Mary Sue's.

**EXTRA3:** Those two Vespers actually have names to their meanings but I don't wanna spoil. You can search it on the internet though so...yeah, go ahead.


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